


Harbor

by fictorium, InspectorBoxer, sgvirtualseason



Series: Supergirl Virtual Season [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animated GIFs, Bisexual Female Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Collaboration, Cover Art, F/F, Femslash, Gifset, Girls with Guns, Guns, Holography, Hostage Situations, Imprisonment, Infiltration, Journalism, Kidnapping, Lesbian Character, Memory Alteration, Peril, Rescue Missions, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-16 05:45:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/pseuds/fictorium, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InspectorBoxer/pseuds/InspectorBoxer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgvirtualseason/pseuds/sgvirtualseason
Summary: Terrified at the prospect of being turned into a weapon by Cadmus, Cat resorts to desperate measures at the DEO. Thanks to Maggie, Alex gets a new lead on her father. Meanwhile, Kara faces a choice that could damage her relationship with Clark – and Alex. Cat and Supergirl have a long-awaited conversation.





	1. Act I

This kickass piece of art was created by @pinkrabbitpro ([tumblr](http://pinkrabbitpro.tumblr.com) | [ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkRabbitPro)). Hit up the comments here or [Tumblr](http://pinkrabbitpro.tumblr.com/ask) to let her know you loved the art!


	2. Act I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat is finally free of Cadmus, but what does she remember? Kara learns disturbing news about Scorcher. Alex confronts Hank Henshaw and pays the price. Lucy Lane temporarily assumes command of the DEO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another amazing title gif created by @xy0009 ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xy0009) | [tumblr](http://xy0009.tumblr.com))

**TEASER**

Cat felt too light in Kara’s arms. The van ride back was taking too long, and Kara fought the urge to fly Cat the rest of the way. Alex had looked over their patients as the de facto medic, but she’d opted to drive them back rather than tend to them.

Vasquez did everything she could to keep Cat comfortable, but she warned they wouldn’t know what she’d been through until she woke. The thought of anything more than Kara had seen for herself made her want to scream, so she focused on the details. The rise and fall of Cat’s chest, the slightly sluggish beat of her heart. She seemed no closer to waking, but when Kara shifted, Cat instinctively moved closer.

Once back at the DEO, they piled into the elevator. Alex checked her gun, loading a new clip and chambering a round before sliding it back into her holster.

“What are you going to do?” Kara asked, fracturing the tense silence as they rose toward the command center. It disturbed her to think J’onn had been so easily supplanted, that they hadn’t suspected anything about his brusque behavior once they realized how easily Cadmus had spirited Cat away.

“You need to get Cat and J’onn to medical and out of the way.”

“Alex…” Kara pleaded. “Let me handle Henshaw.”

“No.” Alex met Kara’s gaze, looking as determined as Kara felt tired. “This one’s mine.”

J’onn was barely on his feet, slumped against the side of the elevator with Winn and Vasquez doing their best to hold him up. Maggie stood curious but quiet on Alex’s right, buzzing with unasked questions. Kara wasn’t sure they should have let her tag along, but she’d worry about that later. Right now, getting Cat the attention she needed was Kara’s only priority.

The doors parted and Alex surged out, deliberately leaving the others behind. Once she moved out of the way, Kara zipped both her injured charges up to medical, explaining the situation as best she could to the first doctor who greeted them. Teams of medics swarmed out of nowhere, leading J’onn to a waiting gurney. That he didn’t put up even a token fight as they laid him down worried Kara more than anything else with him so far.

Then Kara had to do the last thing she felt capable of. Her muscles seemed to mutiny, and Kara clutched Cat as tightly as she dared. The doctors spoke in soothing tones, promising to do everything they could. Only when Cat made a small noise of discomfort did Kara manage to loosen her grip.

Even so, Kara still couldn’t relax. What if she was too late? What if she’d carried Cat back just to watch her die? The potential loss sat on her chest like a boulder, one even she couldn’t roll off.

“She’ll be fine, Supergirl,” the first doctor promised her. Her blonde hair and kind eyes reminded Kara of Eliza, and that was enough for her to set Cat down. Once Cat was carefully laid out on the white sheet wrapped around the gurney, Kara checked her over one more time. The doctor clicked her tongue softly, urging Kara out of the way. “Let us work, please?”

Kara was about to argue, but then a violent crash came from the command center. “I’ll be back,” she promised, before dashing back to the main floor of the DEO.

***

More than a decade of anger and grief gripped Alex’s chest like a fist, making it hard to breathe. He’d taken her father from her. Tried to kill J’onn. Infiltrated the one place she’d managed to find a shred of peace. It all clicked now. Why he’d wanted her to call him _Director Henshaw_. Why he’d treated her like she didn’t matter. Why he’d tried to force Kara out.

He wasn’t getting away with it.

Henshaw turned away from the center table, smirking faintly when he saw her coming. If she hadn’t been ready to lash out at him already, that would have done it. She drew her sidearm and heard Maggie do the same.

“This is where you got off to? Rolling around in the dirt?” Henshaw asked, bemused.

Channeling all her rage into one blow, Alex swung the butt of her weapon at him. She landed the strike hard against his left temple as other agents shouted in alarm, surging up from their stations.

Alex staggered back with a yelp of pain as the gun fell uselessly from her fingers. It was like she’d punched a steel wall. Henshaw grabbed her by her shirt, yanking her close, and Alex was horrified to see exposed metal and circuitry beneath his skin where she’d hit him. His left eye was gone, revealing a glowing cybernetic implant beneath. “What the hell are you?” she whispered.

“More than you can handle,” Henshaw sneered, tossing Alex over his shoulder and onto the command table, the glass and lights shattering beneath her.

Maggie opened fire as Henshaw advanced on Alex. She unleashed a torrent of bullets square into his back, but he kept coming.

“Just like your father,” Henshaw snarled as he gripped Alex by the throat, dragging her dazed and bleeding off the table. “Always thinking with your heart instead of your head.”

Alex wheezed, her world going dark around the edges. Clawing at him with her left hand, she stripped away more flesh like a sort of grotesque wrapping paper, exposing more cyborg enhancements beneath as Maggie frantically loaded another clip.

Kara arrived in a burst of superspeed, sliding her arm around Henshaw’s neck and prying him off. Alex fell to her knees and heaved. Maggie grabbed her, dragging her away as Kara turned Henshaw’s tactics on him, gripping him by the throat and slamming him into the floor hard enough to crack the concrete.

“You okay?” Maggie asked, dropping to one knee as Henshaw and Supergirl fought a few feet away. Her fingers ghosted over Alex’s throat and she winced. “Jesus, Danvers. You need a medic.”

Itching to get back into the fight, Alex tried to brush her off, but Maggie was having none of it.

“He’s a freaking terminator, and your hand is mangled. Let Supergirl deal with him.” Maggie wrapped herself around Alex, holding her back.

As Kara and Henshaw traded blows, Henshaw easily held his own against her sister. Alex panicked. It shouldn’t be possible, but when he caught Kara in a headlock, Kara strained to get out of it.

“I should have hauled you into the lab when I had the chance,” Henshaw growled as Kara tried to get purchase on his arm. “We would have torn you apart, instead of letting you grow into this.”

Something small and metal landed next to Henshaw with a clank, rolling the last few inches until it touched his boot. “What the hell–?”

The device whirred and clicked, and blinding white light bloomed across the command center. When it faded, the power was out, and a flurry of standard-issue flashlights snapped on from every angle, revealing Henshaw in a crumpled heap on the floor. Maggie raised her weapon again, but when Kara gave him an experimental kick, Henshaw didn’t move.

Winn held his hands up in triumph. “Short range EMP grenade! I took his enhancements offline.”

“And all our electronics,” Alex rasped into the darkness, her vocal cords protesting. Emergency lighting from the shielded backup generators flickered into life, but every screen in the room remained black. “Get Henshaw into a cell. One that keeps him offline,” she ordered. “Winn, get our systems back up and running. We need to be at max security on every level.”

Kneeling, Kara gently urged Maggie aside to inspect Alex’s injuries “Alex, your hand…” Alex looked down, knowing by both look and feel she had multiple broken bones. Thank God she’d swung with her weapon and not her fist.

“I’ll live.”

They watched as agents dragged Henshaw away.

“You guys are never boring. I’ll give you that,” Maggie said.

***

**ACT I**

The scent of crushed concrete and gunfire hung heavy in the air, mingling with the sterile smell of antiseptic and the metallic tang of blood. Kara sat alone in the bluish glow of the medical bay, flanked by two sleeping women who meant more to her than anything on this earth. She’d changed into her supersuit, fiddling with the corner of her cape as she kept vigil.

Pulling out Cat’s watch, Kara checked it was keeping time, rubbing her thumb over the strap before slipping it back into its hiding place. She’d have to get the glass replaced. Cat would be heartbroken the Cadmus brutes had damaged it.

The bruising on Alex’s neck grew more vivid by the minute, and a high-tech brace now encased her hand, running from her elbow to just above her knuckles. Kara knew there were other injuries the sheet over Alex’s body hid from view, but they weren’t hidden from her. All her promises not to use her _creepy_ power went out the window upon seeing for herself how badly Alex had been hurt. Kara wouldn’t truly settle until every cut and contusion had healed, but at least she had catalogued the damage for herself.

Alex had refused treatment until the doctors had checked on J’onn, who now rested downstairs in the Martian equivalent of Kara’s sunbed. Cadmus had subdued him through psychic noise, abusing his mind-reading ability to keep him docile. Only when the base went into security lockdown had the noise stopped long enough for him to regain control. His one request had been for noise cancelling headphones and a full night’s rest without interruption.

Kara had asked Winn to see Maggie home, anxious to get back to the medical bay. Only then had Alex grudgingly let the doctors deal with her hand. She’d deny any praise for it, but Alex was a strong leader who looked after her team. Kara was so proud of her, even as she worried about the sometimes-reckless lengths Alex went to. The IV in her left hand gave Alex pain relief, but Kara wished she could tap the other end into her own veins and fill Alex’s human blood with all the regenerating abilities Kara’s own cells possessed. It wasn’t fair to be invincible without being able to extend that protection to those she loved most.

And then there was Cat. Tiny, almost fragile beneath her sheet and hooked up to her own lines and monitors. Her blood work had come back full of toxins and a drug they hadn’t been able to identify. The doctors had frowned at the results and scurried off to whisper amongst themselves. They’d forgotten Kara could hear them a mile away.

Cadmus had inflicted some form of Black Mercy on Cat, subjecting her consciousness to Rao only knew what. There had only been a trace amount left in her bloodstream, but it had pinged right away on the DEO scans. Kara still wasn’t over her own experience with the parasite. Cat going through even a fraction of what she had endured made her want to hit something very, very hard.

Sighing, Kara quietly slid her stool closer to Cat’s side. Even devoid of makeup, with dark circles under her eyes and her loose blonde curls mussed, Cat was beautiful. Kara propped her elbow on the bed, resting her chin on her fist and staring at Cat in a way she’d never been able to before.

Giddy warmth spread through her chest when she carefully intertwined their fingers. The touch calmed the rage she’d been consumed by only moments before. Cat had that effect on her, at least when she wasn’t the cause of the anger. Kara knew now she’d been lying to herself, believing all she felt for this woman was admiration. It wasn’t admiration that made Kara’s skin tingle where their fingers touched. It wasn’t respect that made her study the cupid’s bow of Cat’s lips with a faint smile and a painter’s eye.

“Do I look that bad?” Cat croaked without opening her eyes. “I can feel you staring like I stepped out in all white after Labor Day.”

“Oh!” was all Kara could find the presence of mind to utter at first. She sat up straight and started to remove her hand, but Cat only squeezed Kara’s fingers tighter with her own. “You’re awake.”

“And you’re still a master of stating the obvious.” Cat groaned, trying to sit up, before quickly surrendering. “I suppose the fact I’m in the world’s least comfortable bed and not… wherever I was, means you rescued me after all, Supergirl.”

Kara tried not to wince at having to hide behind her title. Friends though they were, Supergirl wasn’t privy to the intimate moments of Cat’s life the way Kara Danvers was.

“I did,” she reassured. “Are your pain levels okay? I can get a doctor–”

Swallowing roughly, Cat blinked her eyes open, focusing blearily on Kara. “Oh God, it’s real. You really did come for me. You _came_.” Her voice cracked on that last word, and Kara’s heart clenched at all the times Cat might have called out for her, all the pleas Kara hadn’t heard.

“Not soon enough. I’m sorry, Cat.”

“You came,” Cat said again, like it was all that mattered. She hadn’t lost her knack for declaring a line of questioning closed. “Where–?”

“You’re at the DEO, the Department of Extranormal Operations. All the best doctors have checked you out, and you’re going to be okay.” Kara vowed to keep that promise. “When you first woke up you asked them about Carter and Adam. They’re fine, and security has been arranged for Carter.”

“Who…” Cat frowned. “Kidnapped me?” Her words were hesitant and unsure, as though she were speaking in an unfamiliar language. “I see moments, but nothing makes sense.”

“Cadmus. You know, with the creepy videos? Hate all aliens, that kind of thing? Nobody realized you were gone at first. But they were expecting us, and I’m afraid they got away.”

She brushed a loose strand of hair from Cat’s face, tucking it behind her ear. Cat nodded into the touch, turning her head to rest her cheek on Kara’s palm, a shuddering little sigh escaping from her lips.

Kara’s breath caught, her stomach fluttering as those searching eyes stared openly at her, studying every slope and angle of her features. Before she could think better of it, she stroked Cat’s cheekbone, caressing the soft skin with her thumb. Whatever they’d done to her, they hadn’t touched her beautiful face. Cat would be happy about that, as soon as Kara let her near a mirror.

“I can’t… it’s all hazy. Cadmus? Why would they take me?”

“We have some guesses,” Kara started, only to be silenced by Cat’s hand grabbing her sleeve.

“There was a screen. And you were… oh, they wanted me to hate you. All of you.” A faint, triumphant smile ghosted over Cat’s lips. “But I don’t. It’s still you. I still feel… it’s you.”

Kara didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. Not right now. “You should rest. While you do, I’m going to track these people down. I’ll make it a priority for everyone in this building if I have to.”

“It was Lillian.” Cat looked like she might throw up.

“Lillian?” Kara repeated. Who the hell was Cat talking about?

“Luthor. She was there. That much I do remember.”

Kara frowned. “Cat…”

“She wanted to turn me against you, against all aliens, but she failed. We should check out her son’s company. LexCorp must be funding them–”

“Cat,” Kara tried again.

“I don’t know what the point of taking me was, but I can guess. There was a man, too. Working for Lillian. I can’t picture his face…”

Kara leaned closer, tilting her head until she caught Cat’s eye again. “Cat, listen to me. It couldn’t have been Lillian. You’re confused.”

“She was there,” Cat insisted.

“Lillian Luthor got married last week. She’s been on her honeymoon ever since.”

“What?” Cat did sit up then, brushing Kara’s reassuring touches aside. “That’s not possible.”

“I’ve seen the pictures.” Kara eyed the monitors beside Cat’s bed, wary of getting her worked up when she should be resting. “It was a private thing… but I know people who were there. But if you’re saying–”

“No.” Cat laid back fully on the bed, twisting away from Kara’s touch. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“Can I stay awhile?”

Cat turned back toward Kara, seeming to regret shunning her so quickly. “Fine, but no watching me once I’m asleep. I’ve been observed quite enough.”

“Deal. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”

***

“What the hell happened in here?” James asked, glancing around with his eyes wide. He’d yet to visit the downtown DEO base, his new duties at CatCo keeping him swamped. Around him, agents swept up glass and concrete, more than a few spent shell casings mixed amongst the debris.

“Oh man,” Winn said as he swiveled in his chair to face James. “You missed a fight for the ages last night.”

“Everybody okay?” James felt out of place in his blue shirt and tie. He and Winn were the only splashes of color in a room full of people in black fatigues.

“Eh. Alex broke her hand punching Henshaw in the face, and then he like, picked her up and threw her into the command table.” Winn waved his hand in an over exaggerated gesture. “I thought she was toast.”

“J’onn and Alex fought?”

“Not J’onn and Alex. Alex and Henshaw. Turns out, Cadmus snatched J’onn on his way to Washington and replaced him with the _real_ Hank Henshaw, who, by the way, is not a nice dude. I’ve been trying to figure out what he might have accessed the last ten days.” Winn turned back to his computer.

James blinked. “And where is Henshaw now?”

“In a cell with a localized EMP emitter to keep his cyborg enhancements offline,” Winn muttered distractedly, tapping on a few keys to send off another search.

“Wait, what? _Cyborg enhancements?_ ”

“Told ya, dude. You missed a hell of a fight. He and Supergirl were throwing down. That’s why there’s all those craters in the concrete. Hope the floor is still structurally sound.”

James edged closer. “What about Cat? No one has told me a damn thing.”

Winn spun back around in his chair. “Oh. Sorry. The rescue and all… finding J’onn… the Hank thing. We’ve been kinda distracted.”

“I get it, man, but is she okay?”

Sighing, Winn shrugged. “I don’t know. Physically? I think so. She was bruised and unconscious when we brought her in, but okay otherwise. Mentally, though? I talked with Alex a few minutes ago, who is very cranky this morning, mind you. It looks like Cadmus played some real mind games on her.”

James rocked back, his stomach tightening. He’d seen a lot in his reporting days, taken pictures of some truly shaken people. Even with his experience he couldn’t picture Cat in that position. Just the thought of her slightly roughed up made him sick. On top of that, the past few days had really hit home just what a legacy he was in charge of upholding. Cat had done so much, built so much, that it was an honor just to fill in for her. He’d expected to do that with Cat watching from the wings, but her recovery from this, assuming she did fully recover, left him alone to manage CatCo for real. Disappointing her, letting her down, was unthinkable. “Can I see her?”

Winn shook his head. “She’s sleeping it off right now.”

Kara had to be devastated they didn’t realize Cat was missing sooner. James felt more than a little guilty about that himself. “Is Kara around?” He owed her an apology for the story splayed across the front page of the Tribune that morning.

“She got a text from Snapper about her article so she had to go in. She wasn’t happy about it, though. Kara has barely left Cat’s side since she carried her in last night.”

“Oh, because that’s unusual,” a familiar voice drawled behind them and they both turned around. “Come on, you guys know half of CatCo thinks Kara is Cat’s shadow, she’s with her so much.”

“Lucy.” James tried for cool and collected as his ex-girlfriend came to a stop beside Winn’s chair. She was in standard DEO black, her polo shirt revealing tanned, sculpted arms as her hands rested on her hips. She gave him a pleasant smile, and he had to admit she wore her new authority well. It had been weeks since he’d seen her last, but some of the lingering awkwardness was now blessedly missing between them.

“Director Lane,” Winn greeted formally, offering her a mock salute.

“Agent Schott,” Lucy volleyed right back with a wink.

Winn grinned. “I’m never gonna get tired of people calling me ‘Agent.’”

“How are our patients this morning? J’onn up and about yet?”

“Haven’t seen him,” Winn said. “You here in an official capacity?”

Lucy nodded. “Washington wants J’onn to rest for a few more days. Have Alex run more scans.”

“The suits worried about him?” James guessed.

“He was held prisoner for ten days. I think they have valid concerns. In the meantime, I’m acting director until he’s cleared for duty.”

A sudden clang made James and Lucy jump. “What the hell was that?” Lucy demanded.

“Our pod person,” Winn grumbled. “He’s been doing that…” He looked up as Vasquez pushed back from her station with a huff and headed toward the holding cells. “On and off all morning.”

***

“You wanted to see me?” Kara sighed. Everything that pulled her away from the DEO right now was a petty concern, and only the lecture she’d get from Cat about neglecting her career had made her heed Snapper’s summons. The whole way over she’d been debating a way to let him know Cat was safe and sound. Frustrating though it was, Kara would have to leave that to James.

Snapper looked up from his desk, scowling as soon as he saw Kara. She’d changed into jeans and an old red sweater, sweeping her hair back in a loose ponytail. Although her outfit was more casual than professional, she was too worried about Cadmus, Cat, Alex, and J’onn to go for anything more than the first items that went together off the rack.

“What’s the matter with you? You look like someone ran over your puppy. Twice.”

Kara crossed her arms, frowning a little. “Why don’t we just cut to the part where you tell me what’s wrong with my article?”

Snapper picked up her submission. It had been written in a rush, typed at her apartment while they waited for the go time on rescuing Cat. “What is this?”

“It’s a story on the president’s visit and the–”

“There was a threat to the president’s life? One that was being kept from the public? How long have you known about this?”

“A few days.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Snapper slammed the copy down on his desk. “I don’t know what to scream about first, Ponytail. That you didn’t shout from the rooftops you had an exclusive nobody else did, or that you didn’t warn the public in advance there was a threat.”

“Chief…” Kara rubbed her forehead, itching to return to Cat’s side.

“I’m so mad I want to throttle you right now, Danvers, but your damn article is actually _good_.”

Kara clicked her teeth together as she shut her mouth. She was staring, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “I… good?”

“Oh, it’s far from perfect, but for once, you left your damn biases out of it. It was just the facts, and you’ve got facts no one else has.”

Mind whirring, Kara shook her head. “You’re confusing me,” she said, trying to figure out if she was in trouble or not.

“There’s just one problem with your sources. Your Infernian? She apparently lit herself up like a homecoming bonfire yesterday. Killed herself and another inmate.”

“What?” Kara blurted. “The detective that arrested her–”

“Sawyer?” Snapper threw a copy of the arrest record down in front of Kara, who grabbed it and started scanning the information. She hadn’t named Maggie in her report, trying to keep her out of it. “She did her job. Someone in intake blew it from the sounds of it.”

Kara’s stomach churned as she looked at the photos of the crime scene. This wouldn’t have happened if they’d taken Scorcher to the DEO. Maggie hadn’t said anything about it last night, but then again, why would she? It wasn’t like they’d had much time to sit around and chat. “Are we sure this was a suicide?”

Snapper tilted his head, peering at her through his glasses. “Some reason you don’t think so?”

Kara hesitated. Maggie had put her neck on the line for her and Cat. She didn’t need Kara getting her in more trouble. “No,” Kara muttered, hoping she was more convincing than she felt. “Asking questions is what I’m supposed to do, right?” She offered him a weak smile. “Look at all the angles?”

She suspected the sound Snapper made deep in his chest was a growl.

“So… you’ll run the story?” she persisted.

“Not in this state. Add the coda, Ponytail. President safe. Would-be-assassin dead. We all lived happily ever after. Call NCPD, maybe your pal Sawyer. Get the details on Scorcher scorching herself. Then get your revised article on my desk in time for the early run.”

The moment should have felt like a victory, but Kara still had questions. “Thanks, Chief.”

“We’ll show the Tribune how it’s done, instead of posting claptrap like this morning’s edition.” He nudged the edge of a paper buried under a small stack of submissions, and Kara fished it out, her jaw clenching when she saw a photo of Supergirl stopping the protestor the day before. She winced, both remorseful for her reaction and angry James would splash it all over the front page.

“Go!” Snapper ordered, making her jump. Kara set the paper down and fled.

***

Evidence gathered, clothes incinerated, replacement phone and tablet coming back with Kara when she escaped Snapper’s clutches. All Cat needed now that the doctors had discharged her was a long, hot shower and a few fingers of scotch. Screw the early hour, she’d be good for at least a fifth and a fistful of Lexapro. Hell, after what she’d been through, the least they could do was write out a script for Valium and speed up the whole process.

Only nobody seemed to have any clue what to do with her. It was ridiculous to linger in a hospital bed when she felt fine, but the attractive agent with the short hair – Suzanne, was it? – had only popped in with coffee so far. Someone had better be making a plan. A plan that involved her going home to her beautiful apartment, collapsing on the bed, and sleeping off whatever bastardized meth had made her think Lillian Luthor of all people had been trying to Jonestown her into… what? Criticizing Supergirl’s highlights?

Already resolved to keep this horrid interlude a secret from everyone outside of her rescue party, Cat’s unsettled attention landed on a screen over on the counter. Hopping out of bed, she was thrilled she could access it with a simple nudge of the mouse. So much for security. Now for a little reconnection, a quick hit for her least surmountable addiction. First stop: finding out how the hell those thuggish bastards had covered up her kidnapping.

It felt good – right, almost – to be back at a screen, fingers flying over the keys. She might have been in a hospital gown with unwashed hair and bare feet, but she was plugged back into the world again.

As she skimmed her emails, Cat alternated with browsing the CatCo homepage. She’d banned autoplay on all their sites out of sheer irritation, but someone had clearly changed that in her absence. This morning, Superman had taken a showy breakfast battle to the streets of Metropolis. Cat watched, confused as to why the usually reticent Man of Steel was all but mugging for the cameras.

 _Kara,_ she realized. A distraction just in case anyone noticed the rescue. As far as Cat could cobble together, the Cadmus site had blown up just after her rescue. She had the faintest half-memory of a concussive thud, struggling to wake up in Kara’s arms. Shaking off the clouded thought, Cat turned her focus back to the flying fists and falling debris.

“Careless,” she snapped. “Irresponsible,” she added, as windows shattered. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Talking to herself was hardly a novelty, since it was often the only decent conversation available. No, the panic came from the fact she hadn’t thought those things about Superman, but said them anyway. The footage cut to a previous battle, and the muscles at the base of her neck seized up, as though some invisible hand was grasping her.

Superman flew towards the camera, that earnest toothpaste commercial smile gone, replaced by a snarl that made her blood run cold. _A threat._ Cat’s mouth contorted in a sneer.

“Ma’am?” Suzanne called from the door, and only then was Cat able to look away. In an instant, the disgust abated, leaving only a queasy feeling behind. “Ma’am? I’m just going to arrange some transport for you. After you’ve changed, you’re free to go.”

“Wait!” Cat called out, stopping the agent in her tracks. “I need you to do something for me.”

***

Rubbing absently at the bruises on her neck, Alex stared at Henshaw. He was restrained and unconscious and would remain that way for the foreseeable future, but she was unsettled by his presence.

She left her phone outside, safe from the EMP emitters, and let herself into his cell through the two-door system. Once inside, she checked the various tubes that kept him fed and hydrated before running a portable bioscanner over him. Over eighty percent of his body had been cybernetically enhanced. He was barely human anymore, although Alex would argue he never had been to begin with.

She drew an uneven breath. Metallo. Henshaw. Cadmus had started out trying to protect the world from monsters, only now they were turning men into them instead. What did that mean for her father?

“Alex.”

For a moment, she thought the cyborg in front of her had spoken, and she twitched violently, ready to defend herself. Then she realized the warmth and concern in the tone were all J’onn. Alex turned, relieved she could face him without thinking of the man on the gurney beside her. “Sir.” Her voice was still rough from the damage to her throat.

Back in DEO attire, J’onn looked much better after a good night’s sleep. “You don’t have to do that.”

“He could help lead me to my father. Hell, he might even know exactly where he is.” Alex looked back at Henshaw, studying his optical implant. His enhancements had benefitted him last night in his fight with Supergirl, but Alex planned to use them to learn secrets he wouldn’t otherwise share.

“He won’t tell you,” J’onn warned.

“Not willingly,” was all Alex would allow before stepping out of the cell and sealing the door. When she turned around, J’onn drew her into a warm hug. Making a tiny sound of surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly, ignoring the pain.

“I’m so glad we found you,” Alex murmured into his shoulder, “and that you didn’t actually come back from Washington a total asshole.” He chuckled in her arms, and she smiled before stepping back and studying him with a critical eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner, that was some rookie crap on my part. How are you feeling?”

“Sleeping off a psychic hangover was just what I needed,” J’onn assured her, his gaze drifting to the man he’d been impersonating for more than a decade. “I hear he did quite a number on my reputation as your warm and cuddly boss.”

“Says the guy who _did_ just hug me,” Alex pointed out, a smile playing at her lips.

“Morning, you two,” Lucy said as she stepped inside the cell, eyeing Henshaw with a frown.

Alex’s stomach tumbled in surprise. She’d warily grown to trust Lucy after their first brush with Cadmus, and Lucy had been nothing but classy over Kara and James when she could have opted to claw Kara’s eyes out. Still, Alex never knew quite how to act around her. She always felt like a nerd standing next to the homecoming queen when Lucy was around. “What are you doing here, Major?”

“Pleasure to see you too, Alex.” Lucy studied Alex’s bruised neck with a wince but didn’t comment on it. “And it’s Acting Director, at the moment.”

“Am I being relieved of duty?” J’onn asked before Alex could stick her foot any further into her mouth.

“Only for a little while,” Lucy promised. She held up her hand to ward off Alex’s protests. “I’m not sending you home and telling you to rest. We both know that would be pointless. But I must insist you take it easy for a day or two at least.”

J’onn nodded. “I expected as much. I know I’d insist on the same for any of you. I assume I have a few more tests in my future as well.”

“A few. I’ll try to sneak some multiple choice in there,” Lucy offered as a weak joke.

“Sir. Ma’ams.” Vasquez greeted them with a tight smile as she leaned in the doorway. “Ms. Grant is awake and demanding to speak to someone.”

“Let me guess,” Alex said around a sigh. “She wants the fun drugs, not just the medicinal ones? Or is it the sheets? Thread count not high enough?”

Lucy snorted.

“Actually, ma'am, she’s insisting we lock her up.”

***

Lillian waited in her underground office, replaying the last of the recovered footage from their destroyed facility. Each guard she’d questioned had claimed not to have seen the intrusion, which meant the feeds had been tampered with. Given the identity of their intruders, and that most of her staff would sooner lick the sockets than know how to rewire them, that left only one suspect.

Two prototype super soldiers dragged Jeremiah Danvers in front of her desk, dropping him into the chair she’d picked out to be as uncomfortable as possible. She was pleased to see they’d followed her instructions to rough him up a bit on the way over, although his fat lip could make questioning him a bit tedious.

“How do you like your shiny new jewelry, Jeremiah?” Lillian asked as she rounded her desk before settling on the edge, inspecting the deep cuts on either side of the new security band wrapped around his forearm. “Were you planning to just sit there and let it blow you up, like a coward? Hoped to take everyone else out with you? Where did your sudden spine come from, I wonder?” He had figured out all the limitations of the last device, testing it, and her patience, again and again. Once he’d learned he couldn’t be far from some of the men and their coded phones without it detonating, however, he’d finally settled down.

“I didn’t do anything,” Jeremiah said, spitting blood on the floor. She slapped him, vowing to make him clean it himself before he was hauled back to his cell.

“Do I need to tell you what the loss of that facility has cost me? I may be a Luthor, but secretly reallocated funds don’t grow on trees, Dr. Danvers.”

“Not even from the government?”

She didn’t like that glint in his eye one bit. Where was her docile alien biologist, ready to turn any dial or insert any needle, so long as his precious wife and daughters weren’t harmed? Jeremiah rarely gave any indication he kept up with current events, the only one of the staff not to congratulate her on her recent nuptials. Clearly the near miss with seeing his adopted freak had given him new boldness. That could be kicked out of him every bit as effectively as the first time around. She could give him a taste of Mercy to make him fall in line, but it was so much more fun to make him do the work without it.

“And now I have to worry about Cat making a fuss to the press about me being part of Cadmus. No doubt she’ll run along to the police and there will be a useless investigation…”

“There won’t be. I gave her something. It would have scrambled her recent memories, made her unsure whatever she remembered was real.”

“Hmm. So maybe you’re not a total waste after all.” The news was a minor relief, but Jeremiah had still complicated matters. “But if you think you’ve thwarted me by freeing Cat Grant, she’ll turn on that flying Barbie soon enough. We’ve planted enough doubt and pumped her with enough of that evil little parasite that she’ll never trust herself again. And she shouldn’t. Too little, too late, Jeremiah. That’s something of a motto for you, isn’t it?”

“No one could hate her.”

“Who, Kara?” Not that Lillian needed the confirmation, but she enjoyed Jeremiah’s flinch at the name. “Oh, I’ve known her not-so-secret identity for quite some time now. Even if Hank had never told me, did you think we could watch CatCo for months and not find out? Why do you think we focused our efforts on Supergirl? The irony in Cat detesting your own daughter, her precious assistant. It’s a bit too much to pass up, don’t you think? The girl might have made a viable route to Cat, too, compromised by the lie of being Kara Danvers. Fortunately, the queen of all hacks gave us an easier way to grab her.”

“Kara’s stronger than you.” Jeremiah leaned forward in his chair. “Stronger than any of you.”

“And yet your other daughter is so breakable,” Lillian sneered. “Settle down, Jeremiah. Plan B goes into effect soon.” She stood. “Make sure you clean that blood up before you leave. Not one drop, understood?”

Lillian smiled as he glared impotently. Maybe it was time to find another scientist. Perhaps she’d poach someone else from the DEO. Snap up Jeremiah’s own precious daughter. She’d have fun breaking Alex Danvers’ defiant spirit, destroying Supergirl in the process when she realized her beloved sister had turned against her.

Pleased by the thought, even if it wasn’t viable for now, Lillian left Jeremiah behind to deal with his mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you've enjoyed this chapter of the virtual season. Questions always welcome too!
> 
> Major props to supercattuccino ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/krystalgoderitch) | [tumblr](http://supercattuccino.tumblr.com/ask)), spaceshipsarecool ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipsarecool) | [tumblr](http://spaceshipsarecool.tumblr.com/ask)) and musetotheworld ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/musetotheworld) | [tumblr](http://musetotheworld.tumblr.com/ask)) for their beta work on all episodes so far!


	3. Act II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Supergirl Virtual Season…  
  
---  
  
Gorgeous gifset courtesy of mitski ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mitski) | [tumblr](https://mitski.tumblr.com)). Be sure to let her know how much you love it!


	4. Act II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat orders Lucy and Alex to lock her up. Kara’s questions could get Maggie in trouble. Cat and Kara have a conversation that will change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another amazing title gif created by @xy0009 ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xy0009) | [tumblr](http://xy0009.tumblr.com))

Cat did a double take when Lucy Lane entered the medical bay with another woman Cat recognized on her heels. It made sense Lucy would have returned to something military-adjacent after leaving CatCo, but this was unexpected. Cat had a dozen questions for her, but it was Alex Danvers that captured her attention.

Fit and trim in her dark DEO attire, with a gun holstered on her thigh, Alex looked like a soldier rather than the scientist Cat knew her to be. Alex had piqued her curiosity during Myriad, and Cat had quickly put two and two together. When the threat had passed, she’d spent a little time digging into Alex Danvers. Cat had to admit she was impressed.

Had Alex been with Kara last night, swooping in to help pull Cat from Cadmus’s clutches? The Danvers sisters to the rescue. Maybe Cat would end up with a whole cadre of superheroes to trademark.

“Cat,” Lucy greeted warmly, settling her hands on her hips. She also sported a firearm, but didn’t seem nearly as lethal with it as the bruised and stoic woman beside her. “I hear you wanted to speak to a manager?”

“Well,” Cat murmured, mollified by a few familiar faces. It had been a long morning surrounded by a sea of strangers in lab coats. They’d tested her patience far more than anything they’d done with bloodwork and scans. “I didn’t think you’d do better than CatCo, but you’ve moved up in the world.”

Smiling, Lucy drifted closer. “I’m Acting Director for the moment. I hear you _want_ us to toss you in a cell? We just busted you out of one. I’m sorry I wasn’t there last night to help, but this one” – she jerked a thumb at Alex – “is in for a reminder about off-book missions.”

Cat couldn’t shake the feeling wherever she’d been hadn’t been all that different from here. Both places relied on guns, muscles, and shadowy orders from above. Only her faith in Kara made Cat certain she was somewhere safe. Lucy’s presence helped, but Cat didn’t appreciate being coddled when she should be treated as a ticking time bomb.

“We don’t know what Cadmus did to me, to my mind. I’m a danger to myself and to others.”

“You’re in a building full of highly-trained and heavily-armed agents,” Alex told her. “Your bloodwork came back clear of pathogens, so you’re not physically a threat to the human or alien populations. We’ve scanned you from head to toe. There are no signs of any devices, microscopic or otherwise.”

Cat relaxed a little at that, but her relief was short-lived. “Implanting a chip or turning my blood into poison would have taken an hour at best. They kept me for days. Whatever they did may be too subtle for you to detect, but it has my blood boiling at the sight of Superman. That’s not normal.”

“We know they used a substance on you derived from a parasite known as the Black Mercy,” Alex continued. “Supergirl had some experience with it a few months back. Your reaction to Superman was likely caused by the trace amounts still in your system, and when those clear you’ll be fine.”

 _Mercy._ The word made Cat’s skin crawl. She shuddered slightly, and Alex’s dark eyes sharpened on her.

“Do you remember something?”

“Mercy. That’s what they called whatever they were spraying into the tank.”

“Cadmus used it as an aerosol?” Alex frowned.

Cat nodded. “I think so. I remember the hissing, feeling it coat my skin. You said parasite… what kind of parasite?” Her germophobia reared its head, making her fingers itch with a sudden desire to claw at her own skin.

“It’s actually plant-based,” Alex explained. So her scientific bona fides weren’t just a cover story. “Alien. It produces an intensely real hallucination. Almost like being inside a virtual reality in your own mind.”

Cat shivered again. “Sounds about right. You can’t imagine how real it feels.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Alex gave her a humorless smile. “Still, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

“Especially not your sister, right?” Cat conjured up a smirk to drop that little bombshell. As flippant as it seemed, Cat had to ignore her feelings for Kara to get the reaction required. “It must be potent to have affected Supergirl.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed and she stepped closer, Lucy tensing beside her.

“Alex,” Lucy warned.

“Your mother was lovely,” Cat added, unable to resist. “But neither of you were very subtle around Kara when we first met.” If they wouldn’t lock her away simply because of Cadmus, Cat would convince them another way.

Jaw clenching, Alex glared at her. Cat had faced down more physically imposing people, but there was a dark menace about Alex that left Cat genuinely intimidated. Where Kara was mostly love and light, Alex was clearly comfortable in the shadows, willing to do what needed to be done. Cat was fascinated, and perfectly willingly to use that protectiveness to her advantage.

“The story of the year,” Cat said slowly, ignoring the guilt churning in her stomach. “Mild-mannered Kara Danvers is Supergirl. How many pages in the spread, do you think? Stick with a conservative four? Or do the twelve-page fold out?”

Lucy stepped between them when Alex surged forward. “Cat, stop it. Goading Alex into throwing you in a cell might be what you want initially, but trust me, threatening Kara is not the way to go.”

Cat crossed her arms, meeting Alex’s glare with her own, but grateful Kara had such a champion in her corner. She considered the options remaining to her. Another day Cat would have deployed the stubbornness she was renowned for. Today she was just too exhausted. “Fine. You know I would never do a damn thing to harm Kara. That’s why I want you to lock me up, for God’s sake.”

Tension eased in Alex’s frame when she realized Cat had played her. “You really think you could hurt her?”

“ _Yes._ Her and all of you. Every alien, and everyone who sympathizes with them. I may not remember everything. I might see things that aren’t there, or my memory may be distorted, but there is only one reason you take someone like me.”

“Propaganda. Use your empire to sway the public,” Alex said evenly.

Cat closed her eyes in relief. Finally, someone operating on her level. “Not just my empire. _Me._ All my knowledge, my influence, my reach. They program me, and I pave the way for their agenda. The people who owe me favors, the people who carry out my every command because their job depends on it… I have far too much power at my disposal.”

“We could keep an eye on you, Cat,” Lucy pointed out.

“You think you’ll notice? By the time you do, it would be too late.” Cat shifted her gaze back on Alex, sensing an ally. “They won’t have me frothing at the mouth, picketing on the streets. It’ll be subtler than that. Please. Don’t let me hurt Kara.”

“Fine,” Lucy muttered. “We’ll accommodate your request if it’ll make you feel better. Take the time to run some additional tests.”

“I need you to get in my head, Lane. Surely you have some way with all your alien gizmos around here? You can make sure I haven’t been mentally compromised. Plus, there’s some really great material on Lois in there you could kill with next Thanksgiving.”

“The fact you’re insisting on incarceration suggests maybe you’re not yourself,” Lucy agreed. “We’ll proceed with caution awhile longer.”

“Kara won’t like us tossing you in a cell,” Alex said wryly.

Cat shrugged. “Well, it’s a good thing we both know how to handle your sister then, isn’t it?”

***

“Supergirl!”

Kara was greeted by a harried Vasquez the moment she stepped off the landing pad. She didn’t think she’d ever seen Vasquez even slightly ruffled before. “Everything all right? Are Alex and Cat…?”

“They’re all fine, ma’am. Ms. Grant is awake and seems to have mistaken this for the Beverly Hilton, but we’re on top of it.”

Kara fought back a smile. Not everyone found Cat’s demanding nature endearing. This was the best news she’d heard all day.

“It’s about the Daxamite, ma’am.”

And just like that, Kara’s mood soured again.

***

Train him. Mon-El had to be kidding.

Kara closed the door to his cell behind her, her mind a jumble as she headed for the medical bay. It would be one thing if he really wanted to be a hero, to use his powers for good, but he just wanted his freedom.

The DEO couldn’t hold him forever, though, and a part of her was tempted. It was a chance to complete some unfinished business in her life, to live up to the legacy her parents had entrusted her with when they’d sent her to Earth. If she could get over the urge to punch Mon-El in the face every five minutes then maybe…

Pausing outside the medical bay, she fired off a quick text to Kal to get his thoughts, and then Kara shoved the Daxamite out of hers. She had more important things to focus on.

“Hey,” Alex greeted, scooting away from a microscope as Kara entered the room. She picked up a small, random piece of lab equipment and fiddled with it.

“Where’s Cat?” Kara stared at Cat’s empty bed, a hundred worst-case scenarios running through her mind. Had they missed something? Was Cat hurt worse than they realized? Was she…?

“Kara,” Alex said in her best soothing voice, getting to her feet and moving stiffly toward her sister. Alex was obviously still in pain, but she still had a soft half-smile that said Kara didn’t need to worry, that her big sister was on the case. “Let me explain.”

“Where is she, Alex?” Kara demanded, her panic refusing to die down.

“She’s fine, but you’re not going to like what I have to tell you.”

***

The door clanged shut behind her, Kara cutting Alex off mid-sentence as she made her way down to Cat’s cell. The glass wall was temporarily fogged for privacy, and Kara knocked, fairly sure she’d be intruding. Still, she had to sort out this nonsense. “Cat?”

“I’m decent,” Cat called out. “Well, ish. Do whatever magic turns the glass back to glass.”

“I’m getting you out of here,” Kara began, before running out of words in both English and Kryptonian as the glass cleared. Cat was wrapped in nothing but a white towel, showing off more of her bare legs than even her shortest skirts at the office had displayed. She was combing her wet hair at a mirror that was definitely not standard issue. Clearly demands had already been made. Demands that even in full Supergirl mode, Kara would have been powerless to resist. The DEO agents wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“My choice,” Cat said quietly. She turned her head, finally meeting Kara’s gaze. “I’m where I should be.”

“Like hell.” Kara cleared her throat and crossed her arms, angry at the universe but left without a target to punish. Cat had asked for this, and Alex and Lucy had gone along. Kara didn’t know who she should be mad at more. “You want a harmonica and some chalk to mark the days on the wall while you’re in there?”

Cat turned all the way round then, setting the comb down. She tucked the towel a little tighter over her chest, and Kara averted her eyes for a moment until she couldn’t help but look back. Cat had stepped closer, her expression unusually patient on her bare, heat-tinged face, inviting Kara to say more.

“The showers are a lot better here,” Cat murmured when Kara didn’t take the bait. “A real improvement over being shoved under a cold trickle for a couple of minutes every other day.”

Kara swallowed. “This,” she said, grimacing. “This is why I never told you more about who I am, why that last night on the balcony together I wouldn’t tell you my real name. Being associated with Supergirl is dangerous. It means horrible things happen to you.”

She couldn’t find anyone to blame but herself. She was the reason Cat had to endure all of this.

“True,” Cat conceded, turning back to the mirror. “My stylist will never forgive me for all those days without conditioner. I might have to change salons.”

Kara rolled her eyes at the deflection, but warmth rose in her cheeks. “You’re still… you know.” Why didn’t her mastery of human physiology allow her to control blushing? “Still beautiful. Anyone would say so.”

“Hmm.” Cat frowned at her reflection. “I’d say flattery doesn’t work on me, but we both know better. Oh, for God’s sake,” she groaned, looking at Kara’s furrowed brow in the mirror. “I’m the one who was kidnapped. Enough with the brooding. I thought all that tedious _manpain_ was for the boys in capes. You don’t have to make it about you.”

“Says the woman who insists we cage her for the safety of the invulnerable superhero.”

“You are not invulnerable.” Cat readjusted her towel before crossing her own arms and turning to face Kara again. “There are things on this planet that can kill you, hurt you. While nothing Cadmus could make me do would likely succeed with the former, I can surely do the latter.”

Kara shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“I made you a hero, Supergirl. Don’t you think I can make you the villain?”

“I made myself a hero.”

“Yes, yes. Your Mother Theresa with muscles routine certainly helped the narrative, but what if I’d focused on collateral damage instead of lives saved? Or how about all the aliens you brought down on National City because they wanted a piece of you? People need hope, and that’s what I gave them – what we gave them together – but I could just as easily turn this city against you. My broadcast finished the job last time.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Kara whispered.

“I wouldn’t.” Cat swallowed. “Not willingly. But I can’t be sure my will is my own anymore. I’m already second guessing myself.”

“Cat…”

“This is the way things have to be. Until your agents prove I won’t use CatCo to push Cadmus’s agenda, I need to be locked up. This is not just about you. I poured my life into that company, and I won’t see it abused.”

“Fine. Let them run more tests, but you don’t need to stay in here!” Kara slapped her palm against the glass. “You could be home, in your apartment…”

“Where they could reach me again? Find another way to finish what they started? I’m safer here and so are you. So is everyone.”

“Enough with the melodrama!” Had Cat always been this infuriating? Kara hadn’t fought her way through kryptonite, an exploding building, and the panic of almost losing Alex, just to let Cat trade one prison for another.

“I’ll stop when you do,” Cat snapped back and Kara went still. “Grow up. I’m a weapon now. A bomb ready to go off. Do you think I _like_ this? Being penned up? To want nothing more than to hold Carter in my arms, only to be too scared I might be a danger to him, too?”

“You would never hurt him. And I don’t believe you would hurt me, either.”

“And what does your sister, Alex, think? She agrees with me, doesn’t she?”

Cat waited for Kara to deny everything. The lies readily crowded onto the tip of Kara’s tongue like they had a hundred times before. They stared at one another, inches suddenly like miles between them. Cat hadn’t come in all guns blazing this time, just a simple tripwire for Kara to fall over or walk away from.

Kara nodded.

Cat didn’t say anything for a long moment, but her hand slowly eased up the glass to rest on the other side of Kara’s. “Well, that was anticlimactic,” she said. Where Cat had been angry and excited at the first reluctant reveal, this time only a faint, beautiful smile ghosted over her lips.

Pitching forward, Kara rested her forehead against the cell. “This still isn’t fair.”

“It’s not,” Cat agreed. “But until we know what kind of danger I am to you, Kara… to others…” She stepped back and flicked her wrists at the space around her. “Here I’ll stay. I wouldn’t say no to a book and some scotch, though I’ll pass on the harmonica.”

Kara ducked her head in resignation. “We’ll raid Alex’s locker for the scotch for now. Then I’ll swing past your place, get you some clothes and a bottle you’ll approve of.”

“You always know just what I need.” Cat’s strident arguments had given way to softer tones, ones Kara so rarely heard directed at her. “Speaking of which–”

“I’ll have someone bring you a phone. Carter will be waiting for your call.”

***

“So, on a scale of one to pissed enough to melt my face, how mad are you?” Alex asked, pushing away from the wall she’d been loitering against as Kara stepped out of the cell block door.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That mad, huh?” Alex hurried to keep up as Kara headed for the launch pad. “It wasn’t my call, Kara. She even pulled the whole _I’ll expose Supergirl_ trick, which, by the way, we will be talking about very soon.”

“You _caged_ her, Alex.” Kara swung around, her frustration and temper etched into every line of her body. “Like a criminal. We don’t even know the full extent of what they put her through. This makes us every bit as bad as them, doing this to her.”

“She’s scared, and she has every right to be. Cat asked to be locked up.”

“I know better than most how intimidating she can be,” Kara said, gesturing at the door to the holding cells, “but you can’t just give in to her. She can’t possibly know what’s best. Not after everything Cadmus did to her.”

“I didn’t put Cat in a cell because I think she’s going to run around melting aliens with her mind. She’s panicked right now, even if she’s back to the bored drawl and sarcastic remarks. Let her keep things contained until she can get her head right.”

“But… we can keep her safe. I might be the reason they came after her, but at least I can keep her safe now.”

“We don’t know this was just about you. Stop blaming yourself,” Alex told Kara with as much patience as she could muster. “Cat needs to feel secure, like she can’t hurt anyone. If I were in her shoes, I’d want the same thing. Kara, you remember what it’s like to worry you’ll hurt other people without being able to stop yourself.”

Kara ran her hands through her hair, grimacing at the reminder of her behavior under Red K. She glanced at Alex’s injury, an echo of the one she herself had caused. “I hate seeing her like that. It was almost as bad as finding her in that tank. Alex…”

“I know.” Alex swallowed, frustrated that for the time being it was going to be all about Cat Grant, and not about finding her father. Though she couldn’t entirely blame Kara, especially if her feelings for Cat ran as deeply as Alex suspected. “But if she asked you for a bandage right now, for somewhere you couldn’t see a cut… you’d wrap it up anyway, right? Just to make her feel better?”

Nodding reluctantly, Kara sighed. “You’d better share your liquor stash with her then. And see if anyone has something to read around here that isn’t a gun manual.” Kara hesitated, and Alex tilted her head.

“What?” Alex prompted.

“Did you know about Scorcher?”

“What about her?”

“She apparently turned herself into a fireball at the NCPD.”

Alex blinked a few times, processing. “Maggie…”

“Wasn’t there when it happened, but…” Kara frowned. “I just… I don’t know what situation she’s in there, Alex, but I’m worried about her.”

“You think she’s… what? Working for Cadmus?” Alex bristled. Maggie had been nothing but helpful from the moment they’d met, and she didn’t appreciate what Kara was borderline insinuating.

“I don’t know. But what if… what if freeing Cat was all part of some plan we’re not seeing? Maybe they want her out now, like this?”

Alex weighed the idea before forcing it from her mind. That was a distraction she couldn’t afford. “I have work to do.”

“Alex,” Kara murmured. “Don’t be mad…”

“I’ll catch you later.” Alex turned away, wondering just what kind of mess Maggie had gotten herself into and if there was anything she could do to get her out of it.

So much for not being distracted.

***

“You requested a phone?” Lucy appeared outside the glass wall of Cat’s cell. “You know, a hotel would charge extra. Should I be asking for something in return?”

“Well, you can stick a quarter in the food tray and see if I have any advice to dispense.”

“I think I’ll just come in.” Lucy opened the door and stepped inside, handing the phone to Cat.

Cat was relieved she had brought a brick of a cell phone, one of those Nokias that could blow up a microwave and play Snake, but had no 4G, no Wi-Fi, barely even SMS capability in a bunker like this. Carter’s number had already been programmed in, because even at the DEO, Kara managed to be the world’s greatest assistant.

“I’ve been reviewing your notes.” Lucy leaned against the far wall, her hands in her pockets. Seeing her in her element, Cat wasn’t surprised corporate life hadn’t been the right fit, but she’d done her own share of trying to bend for people she thought she loved. Her inability to do it well accounted for most of her success. “It made for some pretty interesting reading. Lillian Luthor is your own personal Dr. Frankenstein, huh?”

“There’s no love lost between the Lanes and the Luthors either,” Cat argued, refusing to be embarrassed by the tricks her mind had played on her. Still, the nagging doubt persisted. Lillian had been so real, so utterly vivid. Not bad for someone Cat had mostly seen across crowded ballrooms in recent years. “Or have you forgotten what her darling son tried to do to your sister?”

Lucy snorted. “Marrying her would have been harsher punishment than jail. But I guess even megalomaniacs can see sense in the end. Still, the two houses, both alike in dignity, _have_ finally been united. That’s what amused me so much about all this.”

“What do you mean? I run a media empire, and I hadn’t heard anything about the Lanes being involved.”

“Lillian is now stepmom number three,” Lucy explained, rolling her eyes. “Just when I thought my father’s views couldn’t get any more questionable, he’s found the Sarah Palin to his John McCain. They’re off in Tahiti, of all places.”

The last scraps of Cat’s conviction fell away as her frustration spiked. “Well, like I said. I was wrong. Maybe if you get around to scanning something relevant, we’ll see who it really was. I think I’ve done quite enough work to unmask Cadmus, don’t you? I don’t see any of you lining up to get kidnapped.”

“I can see why your brain might go there. The little time we’ve spent together, she made Lois look like your biggest fan. Throw in her access to LexCorp – sorry, L-Corp – and her family money… yeah. But it seems unlikely for a Cabinet Secretary, wouldn’t you say?”

“And how many people would say it’s likely my meek assistant can throw spaceships and melt steel beams with her eyes?” Cat countered, but her heart wasn’t in it. “I need to speak to my son. Could you stay?”

“You don’t want privacy?”

“I’m learning to live without.” Cat picked up the phone again. “I’m not ashamed of loving my own son, so spare me your blushes. I want a witness in case I suddenly start… babbling in tongues, or telling him to burn his X-Files DVDs. Understood?”

“It’ll be like I’m not even here,” Lucy promised, and she moved away to give Cat some needed space.

Unwilling to waste another second, Cat pressed the call button, relieved when Carter answered two rings later. Finally, an upside to every teen being glued to their phone.

“Sweetheart?”

“Mom!” Some background chatter and then Cat heard steps and a door closing. “Tell me your plans changed, and you’re coming to get me from Dad’s.”

“Not just yet.” Cat hated to disappoint him, but his eagerness to leave had spiked her mommy sense. “Why, what has he done this time? If he has some other trophy girlfriend babysitting you so he can play more golf–”

“No, it’s fine,” Carter interrupted. “I just… I miss you. I feel like we haven’t spoken properly since you left.”

“We haven’t, really.” Cat winced at the unintentional lie. “You know things get busy sometimes, but I did take my leave so I can finally have some quality time with you. No more fitting you in around CatCo, I promise.”

“You know I don’t mind.” More background chatter. Clearly, for a thirteen-year-old, life went on regardless of your mother’s incarceration status. “Listen, Kara said when she came round that I’d be seeing you soon. Does that mean I don’t have to stay with Dad as long? I like my bedroom at home way better.”

“We’re not going to change anything just yet,” Cat warned, although usually by now she’d already be emailing her team of lawyers and making arrangements. Unlike Adam’s father, Carter’s almost always ceded to her demands when it came to custody. “But I’ll see you as soon as I can, and then you’ll be back home when it’s time, just like we planned.”

“Mom?” Carter’s voice got serious then, and she could hear the hints of it starting to break. Were they really there already? She loathed the cliché, but it really did seem like minutes since she’d brought him home from the hospital, a tiny, crying bundle. “Are you sure you’re okay? You sound funny.”

“Just fine, darling. This hotel isn’t quite up to standard, but I’ll survive.”

“Kara seemed pretty spacey when I saw her. Is she back working for you? Did you miss her?” Cat didn’t care for the hint of a smirk in that question, but Carter’s awkward inquiries were too welcome to be shut down.

“She’s helping with a special project. Now, have you finished your homework?”

“Always with the mom mode.” Carter sighed. “I’m going to do it now. Love you.”

“I love you, Carter. Don’t ever forget how much. You promise me?”

He groaned. “Like you’d ever let me. Bye! Say hi to Kara for me.”

Cat ended the call, already wishing she’d made it last an hour longer. That wasn’t bad for Carter, who hated talking over the phone at the best of times. She took the handset and firmly jabbed the power button until it died, handing it over to Lucy, who had been as unobtrusive as her word.

“Better?” was all Lucy asked.

Cat rubbed under one eye, hoping to hold back the threatening tears. Suddenly exhausted from the rush of a real conversation with Carter, she made her way over to her bunk, not caring how it looked in front of Lucy.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Lucy said gently, squeezing Cat’s shoulder in wordless comfort before giving Cat her privacy.

By the time Lucy left the cell, silent tears were streaming down Cat’s face. Now, after everything, she was finally starting to make her way back home. The worst was over, because it had to be.

She’d make sure of it.

***

“Detective.”

Maggie glanced up from the report she was signing off on, shaking her head when she found Kara Danvers lingering beside her desk. With a tiny groan, she tossed her pen down and leaned back in her chair. “Do I need to requisition a parking space for you and your sister?”

“I took the bus,” Kara answered quite sincerely, and she settled uninvited into the folding chair beside Maggie’s desk. “Thank you. For… you know.”

At least Kara had the sense to be discreet. “No problem. Sorry you couldn’t be there, but glad it all worked out. Now if you’ll…”

“I forgot to mention the other night. I work for CatCo Magazine. The new investigative unit.”

Maggie sat upright in her chair, looking around to make sure no one had overheard. “You’re a reporter?” Kara preened a little at the title. “I was happy to help this once, but that was a one-time deal,” she said in a near whisper.

Kara studied the other detectives before fixing back on Maggie. “What happened with Scorcher?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

“Kara,” Maggie said through clenched teeth. “I can’t talk about it. This is not a line of questioning you want to pursue. It’s dangerous.”

“There a problem here, Sawyer?”

Just when Maggie thought it couldn’t get any worse, along came her captain. “No, sir. She was just leaving.”

Kara bounced to her feet and offered her hand. “Kara Danvers. CatCo Magazine. I have a few questions about the Infernian that died in your custody. I thought I’d start with the arresting officer.”

“Captain Frank Braden.” He smiled as he shook her hand, but his green eyes were cold and calculating. Maggie pushed back from her chair and stood, not sure what to do, but unwilling to let Kara blunder into the kind of trouble that Maggie herself couldn’t escape. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing?”

Kara smiled thinly. “Thanks.” She squeezed his hand a little harder when he didn’t let her go, and Braden winced, finally releasing her. “I’m writing an article about the president’s visit and the threat on her life.”

“Well.” He slipped right into press conference mode. “It’s all in the police report. Sawyer wasn’t even around. She did her job like a good detective.” He shot Maggie his best fake smile, and her skin crawled. “Nothing more to it, unless you want to go talk to some alien conspiracy nuts.”

“Maybe I’ll do that.” Kara stared him down as she said it, and even with her Goody Two Shoes thing going on, it sounded like a threat. She looked back at Maggie, now with a wordless apology in her eyes. “Detective.”

“Miss Danvers.” Maggie settled back in her chair as Kara left, only to have the captain put one palm on her desk and lean in so close she could feel his breath on the side of her face.

“You wouldn’t be talking to the press, would you, Sawyer? Miss Mary Sunshine finds out anything she shouldn’t, and we’re going to have a problem.” He slapped her hard enough on the back to bruise, leaving her with that unsettling thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you've enjoyed this chapter of the virtual season. Questions always welcome too!
> 
> Major props to supercattuccino ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/krystalgoderitch) | [tumblr](http://supercattuccino.tumblr.com/ask)), spaceshipsarecool ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipsarecool) | [tumblr](http://spaceshipsarecool.tumblr.com/ask)) and musetotheworld ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/musetotheworld) | [tumblr](http://musetotheworld.tumblr.com/ask)) for their beta work on all episodes so far!


	5. Act III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Supergirl Virtual Season… Cat had some demands to make of the DEO. Alex and Lucy took some convincing.

Another stunner from @pinkrabbitpro ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkrabbitpro) | [tumblr](https://pinkrabbitpro.tumblr.com)). Feel free to shower with praise!


	6. Act III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Searching for answers about Cadmus, J’onn reads Cat’s mind. Maggie gives Alex a key piece of evidence that could lead to Jeremiah. Kara confronts Clark over leaving her with the Danvers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another amazing title gif created by @xy0009 ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xy0009) | [tumblr](http://xy0009.tumblr.com))

Cat watched J’onn fuss with something on his tablet. It was nice to be in the fresh air again, even if she’d resisted the trip to this large balcony at first. With the view and the layout, it wasn’t so different from her own at CatCo. Her third day at the DEO was proving more challenging now that she felt fit to do more than be prodded for tests and sleep off her ordeal, tapping right back into her panic from being locked up.

“So how was your suite at Hotel Cadmus?” Cat asked. “If you got an ocean view, then I’m taking back my five star review on TripAdvisor.”

“It was noisy,” J’onn grumbled, setting the tablet down. The two agents Cat had insisted on – just in case – stood guard just inside the glass doors. Despite still being technically off-duty, J’onn wore his regulation black shirt and cargo pants. The only difference from the active agents was his lack of weaponry. “Ms. Grant–”

“It’s Cat. Once you share a kidnapper, there’s no need for formality. Even if I didn’t know you were there. Though I do remember you, from the trouble with Leslie and that Myriad mess. Agent Mulder, wasn’t it?” Even though Kara had since properly introduced them, Cat couldn’t resist the tease.

He frowned at the deliberate misnaming. “You pay more attention than people give you credit for, don’t you? Now about my powers, the ones you’ve requested I use on you.”

“Actually, I asked if there were any mind-reading aliens, and you volunteered the information,” Cat corrected. She poured coffee for them both from the pot that had been set out. “You mentioned before that you’re Martian. Despite that being the planet we’re most obsessed with lately, you never hear much about Martians here on Earth.”

“I’m the last of my kind,” J’onn explained, staring out at the city for a moment. “And your cartoons, I regret to inform you, are less than accurate.”

“So, I can’t call you Marvin?” Cat got only a glare in return. “You should really tell NASA how to find some damn water up there, save us all some tax dollars. What else can you do? Or did the Kryptonians get all the good powers?”

“It’s not really relevant.”

“I’m about to let you peek inside my mind. After everything we’ve been through, you’ll have to forgive me for wanting as much transparency as possible. Don’t you have other powers? Are you ashamed to be outmatched by a girl who looks like a cheerleader, is that it?”

J’onn stood, hands on his hips. Perhaps she’d pushed too far.

“There’s this.” He took a deep breath and sank through the floor of the balcony as though it were quicksand. The agents by the door barely flinched. When Cat looked back he was standing on solid ground again. “And yes, there’s flight. Your planet has a particularly weak gravity, so flying or enhanced leaping are common to several alien species.”

“Anything else?”

“Well…” J’onn lifted his hand, motioning for the agents to turn around. “This one might explain a few things, now that you’re aware of Supergirl’s identity.”

Cat blinked, and a moment later Kara stood in front of her. Not in the surprisingly chic pencil skirt and fitted sweater she’d worn when dropping by with breakfast, but in a far more typical Kara Danvers ensemble.

“And you’re… you?” Cat stood then, walking around him and looking for some distortion, anything to suggest a break in the illusion. The rest of the penny dropped then. “The whole milk.”

He nodded, transforming back to his regular human form. “That deception was necessary while Supergirl was under the thrall of something like the parasite Cadmus used on you.”

“Mercy,” Cat realized. She wanted to find Kara, ask her everything about what she’d seen and felt and experienced. Ask if that had been why Kara was so subdued afterwards, so unwilling to fight her way back into Cat’s good graces when Siobhan first appeared on the scene. Cat also knew it was unfair to expect those answers, and so she stayed put.

“I think that’s enough distraction for now, don’t you?” Cat sat back in her chair, one leg tucked underneath her. “So why not get in on the hot new trend of fooling around with my gray matter? You don’t even need to restrain me first.”

“Cat, what you’re asking me to do I must advise against. It’s not as simple as a quick glance. Minds – especially human ones – are not well organized. Rooting around in memories, in feelings… it can cause irreparable damage.”

“More damage than Cadmus may have already done, you mean?”

“Yes.”

His willingness to cut to the heart of the matter was refreshing after a lifetime of people competing to have the loudest and most long-winded opinion on everything. She sipped at the surprisingly delicious coffee in her mug. Clearly not from military rations.

“There’s something else you have to consider, too.”

“Which is?”

“Reading minds is not an objective process. If you’ve convinced yourself of something, if you truly believe it, then that’s what I’ll see. There’s no special marker to say something’s imagined rather than remembered. These may not be the answers you’re looking for.”

“Or the droids,” Cat muttered under her breath. “Fine, I won’t expect a miracle. But you can access memories my own trauma, age, or sheer stubbornness are keeping from me?”

“If they exist in your mind, then yes.” J’onn rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles, flexing impressively beneath his government-issue shirt. “I’d still prefer not to do this so soon after your ordeal.”

“Does it hurt you?”

He shook his head. “But first sign of distress or discomfort, and we stop.”

“Well that’s one way to ask for a safe word.” A cheap shot, but Cat couldn’t quite quell her fears. There was a very real shiver down her spine at the thought of anyone actively touching her mind again, prying in ways that shouldn’t be possible.

J’onn sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap, waiting her out with an impressive poker face. Cat almost wished he’d be more aggressive. She found it easier to pick a fight than be appeased.

“We can do this another time,” he suggested.

“No.” Her resolve strengthened. She’d endured far worse for less important reasons. She could trust this man. That much she was certain of already. “Tell me we don’t have to hold hands and chant, because I’m not really one for mindfulness.”

“You just have to sit there.” J’onn leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, weary, just like Cat herself. Perhaps it was selfish to ask this of him now, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to stop. “I’ll try a little test to ease you in. Close your eyes and picture the cell here at the DEO.”

Feeling a little foolish, Cat sat back in her chair and did as he instructed. Shoulders tense, she braced for some sense of invasion. She pictured the modest metal bunk, the mirror on the wall, the folded towel she’d left on top of the bed before joining J’onn for this session.

“Are you–” She felt it, then. The gelatinous sensation of something cool sliding down the back of her throat, beyond where her tongue could taste it. Except the sensation was happening inside her head. “Can you see it?” she asked.

“Yes. It works better if you don’t talk. Fewer things to sort through.”

_Demanding._

“You know I can hear that,” J’onn chided and Cat shrugged. She couldn’t be expected not to have a little fun. “Now clear your mind. You’ll see things as I uncover them, but try not to react.”

 _Easier said than done,_ Cat complained as an image of her Cadmus cell overlaid the far more comfortable accommodations at the DEO. She gripped the armrests, just managing to stop herself from grinding her teeth. J’onn didn’t linger, and when he started to sift through other memories, Cat marveled at the kaleidoscope effect. What she wouldn’t give to parse her own mind with such instant recall.

Familiar scenes gave way to more jumbled ones, memories that came flooding back only as J’onn unearthed them. He seemed to recognize those, giving her time to experience them before moving on. Mostly being moved from her cell to the terrible bathroom, glimpses of guards she didn’t quite remember, hazy moments when she’d been sedated or otherwise drugged.

And then there she was. Lillian. Glowering at Cat, then leaning in far too close in that damn tank. Fragments, barely seconds, but larger than life in each one of them.

 _Does that mean I was right?_ Cat opened her eyes.

 _No,_ J’onn told her, speaking inside her head this time, like a poorly tuned radio in a tiled room. _Watch._

Images of Lillian began to blend when Cat closed her eyes again. Lillian on her wedding day to Lionel, Cat covering it from the cheap seats as a columnist. The grieving widow, all in black. Twenty and some years younger, the glint in her eyes as cruel as always. Then the airport, Metropolis at Christmas. The delayed flight, and Adam sobbing at the arrival gate, held not by his father but by Lillian. Cat’s ex-husband, explaining in a whisper fight while Adam slept that he intended to marry the newly-widowed Lillian and make her Adam’s stepmother. Adam would have siblings at last. Going out to lunch, playing civil but happy families. Adam saying ‘Mommy’ and addressing it to Lillian, not her.

Cat’s gut clenched. She turned away from J’onn, cheeks heated with embarrassment. Trying to make herself focus on Cadmus, she saw Lillian again, this time with a syringe in her hand. But the wrong Lillian. Not the accomplished Cabinet Secretary and society woman of the past few years, but the woman with young children, the lines of her face softer, her hair lighter. Her memories had merged and overlaid one another, and what had seemed so real became a clear fantasy in that moment.

“None of this is any use,” Cat said through gritted teeth. “You’ve made your point.”

“We can try again, if you think there’s something specific I should be looking for,” J’onn offered. He retreated from her mind, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

“I’d like to go back to my room.” Not calling it a cell made a small difference, made the walls seem a little less close. When she stood and stepped back, she saw Kara watching from across the walkways. Her concerned expression gave way to a fond smile as soon as she saw Cat looking back at her.

Cat tried desperately not to think about the way Kara had called her beautiful. She trusted J’onn wouldn’t invade her thoughts without permission, but she still felt connected to him, like waiting for an echo to completely fade. The gruff alien dad routine was no act when it came to the Danvers sisters, and Cat didn’t intend to get on his bad side. Despite the fresh heaviness in her heart over Adam and the lack of answers, Kara’s smile put a spring in Cat’s step all the way to the elevators. She already knew Kara would be waiting for her when she got back to her cell.

***

The sun had long since set by the time Alex stepped out of the DEO, slipping on her leather jacket as she breathed in the cooling air. She turned towards home, only a few blocks away. It was a welcome chance to clear her head as she navigated the sidewalks and citizens of National City with practiced ease.

“Danvers.”

Twitching, Alex barely resisted the urge to draw her sidearm from the back of her jeans, casting a look to her right where Maggie Sawyer smiled and crooked a finger at her from the mouth of an alley. Alex’s stomach fluttered at those damn dimples, and she cleared her throat, stepping out of the foot traffic and following Maggie as she led them away from the street.

They stopped behind a club. A weak light bulb sputtering over the door provided the only illumination. Muted dance music thumped through the walls while Maggie eyed Alex’s bruises with a frown. “That terminator really did a number on you. You okay?”

“Fine,” Alex lied just a little, eager to get home and put in a few hours to find her dad before crashing. Still, there was a shy pleasure in knowing Maggie had sought her out.

Maggie tapped the brace on Alex’s right hand. “That doesn’t look fine.”

Alex shrugged. “Broke a few bones. Got a few bruises. Just part of the job.”

“Fighting cyborgs is part of your job? And here I thought you guys got the cushy work.” When Alex didn’t say anything, Maggie sighed and fiddled with the sleeve of her jacket. “How’s Cat Grant? I expected to see her on the news blowing the whole Cadmus thing wide open.”

“Her memory is spotty at best,” Alex admitted, “but we’re working on it. If she decides to go after them at some point, well… I guess we’ll all know about it.”

“But she’s going to be okay?”

“Physically, she’ll be fine. Jury is still out on mentally.” After Kara’s suspicions, it was validation for Alex that Maggie seemed genuinely concerned, judging by the crinkle around her eyes and the warmth in her voice. Harder to ignore was the Infernian issue. “I heard about Scorcher.”

Maggie remained impassive, but Alex saw a glimmer of fear in those pretty eyes.

“Thought you said you had the tech to handle her,” Alex accused.

“We do.”

“Accidents happen?” Alex sounded dubious. “You have proof?”

“This was a bad idea.” Maggie shook her head. “I just wanted to make sure you were…” She sighed again before reaching into her pocket and extracting a vial of dark liquid she’d sealed in an evidence bag. “Here. You said you have your own trust issues with the DEO. I didn’t want to give this to just anyone, and when I was escorted out the other night you were already in medical.”

Alex took the bag slowly, holding up the vial to the light. “What is it?”

“I think they were using it on Grant. Looked like there were slots for those vials in the console next to the tank.”

“It’s probably Black Mercy toxin. It was in her blood.”

“Whatever the hell that is,” Maggie muttered. “Figured you could run it for prints, because I sure as hell can’t.”

Alex tucked it carefully in her pocket. “Thanks,” she said simply, grateful for a new lead. “And thanks for the other night. For getting them out of there. For… having my six at the DEO.”

Maggie’s lips twitched. “It’s a nice six. Would be tragic if something happened to it.” A pleasant blush raced up Alex’s neck and across her features. Already her concerns started to recede. If she hadn’t been so tired and so busy, she might have suggested a late drink somewhere.

But no. Family first. “I have to go.”

“Of course.” Maggie’s shoulders slumped a little. “Nice working with you, Agent Danvers. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”

There was an emptiness to Maggie’s words that suggested that was the last thing she wanted. But then Maggie brushed past Alex’s shoulder when it would have been easier not to, stepping out onto the sidewalk and disappearing in the crowd.

***

Striding into the DEO the next morning as she sucked down her coffee, Alex wasn’t surprised to spy Kara across the room. Her sister had stopped by every morning since Cat had taken up residence in a holding cell four days ago. At least this time she’d brought donuts. Alex snagged one from the box next to Winn’s console. “Still nothing on what Henshaw might have accessed?”

“No. I mean, he could have accessed _anything_ , but nothing is really standing out. It’s like he just picked up his job where he left off.”

“I doubt that was his agenda.”

“Maybe he was just meant to be a mole. A plant. Cadmus gets an ally in here. Programs Cat to be one at CatCo…” Winn mused.

Alex’s stomach twisted. “That’s… worth looking into. Follow that trail, Winn. Who else would Cadmus snatch and replace or reprogram? City leaders. Government officials…”

“That could be hundreds of people, Alex, and that’s just in National City.”

Alex polished off her last bite and grabbed a napkin. “Focus on influencers. Not celebrities. People like Cat. People with reach and resources. See who’s traveled in the last six weeks and if they’ve been acting weird. Keep an eye on them going forward.”

“How do I find out if they’ve been acting weird?” Winn tapped his chin. “I mean, if you asked me all the times I saw Cat acting weird, it would be a long list.”

“Browser history, maybe? They suddenly start visiting anti-alien websites?”

“I can work with that,” Winn said, his fingers already flying over the keyboard. It looked as though his fellow agents had gone easy on the hazing so far. Alex would need to have a quiet word with them to up their game.

“Hey!” Kara greeted as she joined them.

“How’s the voluntary prisoner?” Alex asked.

“Infuriating as ever,” Kara admitted.

“Just how you like her.” Alex stuffed a donut in her sister’s mouth when Kara opened it to protest. Kara glowered, but she bit off a chunk and chewed.

“Saw your article on Marsdin’s visit. Good thing Henshaw isn’t still in charge or he might have had us haul you in for disobeying orders. You and Cat could have been cellmates.”

Kara blushed, and Alex _really_ didn’t want to know why.

“Thanks for keeping Maggie out of it.” Alex tucked her hand into her leather jacket, her fingers curling around the vial in her pocket.

“Of course. I met her captain the other day.” Kara eyed another donut. “He’s a real slimeball. You should have heard what he said as soon as he thought I was out of earshot.”

Before she could elaborate further, the launch bay doors swooshed open behind them. Kara looked over her shoulder, a smile spreading across her features when she saw who was coming. “Kal,” she breathed, just a little less enthusiastic than his last visit.

Alex shook her head. “Oh joy. Superman is back.”

“He is?” Winn started to get up from his chair only to be shoved back into it by Alex’s working hand on his shoulder.

“Down, boy,” Alex ordered, off to crash the super cousins’ reunion and make sure Clark wasn’t about to dump another crisis on them. They were full as far as Alex was concerned.

Superman strode towards them from the landing pad, his cape billowing behind him. Kara wrapped him in a huge hug. Despite Alex’s reservations about why Clark might be visiting, it was good for Kara to hug someone who could handle her full strength every now and then.

“What are you doing here?” Kara asked.

“Got your message about our pod person,” Clark replied, ready with a smile as always. “Alex,” he greeted with a nod.

“Superman.” Alex stuck with the title in mixed company as she crossed her arms. “What message?” she asked Kara.

“Mon-El asked me to train him,” Kara explained. “You know, teach him how to deal with his powers? Help him assimilate to Earth.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at that little nugget of news. _Here we go again with the distractions._ “He did, did he? And what did you tell him?”

“I said I’d think about it. I texted Superman to see if he had any thoughts.”

“And I do. Have thoughts,” Clark clarified. He met Alex’s gaze only to look away, and Alex frowned, assuming she’d just been dismissed from Kryptonian business again. “There somewhere we can talk?” he asked Kara.

“I need to run some prints,” Alex muttered. She walked away, missing the flicker of worry that chased across her sister’s features as Kara watched her go.

***

“Everything all right with Alex?” Kal asked, settling into a chair in one of the many DEO conference rooms. “She looked like she went a round with a supervillain or two.”

Kara sighed. “She did.” She waved him off and sat down across from him. “You didn’t have to come all this way. Trust me, Mon-El isn’t worth the trip.”

Kal glanced down at his hands, clasping them tightly on the table. “I, I think you should let me train him.”

It was just as well he couldn’t look at her, because Kara’s face was betraying her every thought. “You…” She blinked. “Oh,” she said softly.

“It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable–”

“No,” Kara cut him off. “I get it.” She got back on her feet, pacing slowly in front of the windows. “You weren’t ready with me, but with _him_ …”

“That’s…” Kal fell silent. “You needed a family, Kara. You were all of thirteen. You needed more than I could give, and I would have been putting you in danger. I know I’ve mostly got it under control now, the whole juggling act, but back then I was barely getting by.”

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Kara nodded, but she remained unconvinced. “ _You_ were supposed to be all the family I needed.” She ran her hand over the star chart on the wall, Krypton long since erased from the galaxy. “That’s all that would have mattered.”

“Kara,” he pleaded.

They’d never talked about this. At first, Kara had been too overwhelmed, relieved and confused that the baby she’d been expecting was a grown man who reminded her so much of her uncle. Then there had been a hundred excuses not to bring it up. Kal was happy with his life in Metropolis, and the Danvers were kind and welcoming, everything a family should be. Although it had taken a long time to get over her loss, Kara decided that complaining just sounded ungrateful, and wouldn’t bring Krypton back anyway.

“I was going to do it for you.” Kara met his gaze then, almost daring him to look away. “I was an actual child, and I was willing to give up the rest of my life to keep you safe. I just didn’t get the chance.”

“I know.”

“Do you? By the time you were old enough to understand what happened, you already had new parents who loved you, who gave you a home.” Her voice jumped in volume, almost a yell. “I suppose it’s just a coincidence when a _boy_ comes along you’re ready to teach him how to fight.”

Kal got to his feet, stepping around the table. “I don’t blame you for being angry about this…”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief.” Kara realized she sounded like Cat in that moment, and she wrapped Cat’s persona around herself like a shield.

“Kara…” Kal held out his hands. “I gave you what the Kents gave me. A real family who loves you, and that you love in return. You’re healthy, you’re safe, and you’re a hero, just like you wanted. I couldn’t have done all that for you.”

“Do you regret it?” Kara asked him point blank, the question she’d carried in her heart for almost thirteen years finally given a voice. “Abandoning me?”

“All the time,” Kal confessed, “and yet, I don’t. Every time I see you, thick as thieves with Alex, I know I’ll never be part of your life in the same way. I’m the obligation you dodged, but she’s your sister. You couldn’t be closer if you were related by blood, and you know it.”

Kara turned her head, a few angry tears spilling free. “Do you know what being my sister has cost her? Cost the Danvers? For years they mourned Jeremiah. Now we know he’s out there somewhere. Cadmus has him, because of _me_.”

Kal clenched his jaw.

“I look at Alex sometimes, and I think of all the things she could have been, _would_ have been, if you had just looked after me the way I would have looked after you. Alex would have her father, her medical career, a normal life, instead of carrying the burden of my secrets every day.”

Tears gathered in Kal’s eyes, but he didn’t interrupt.

“I love Alex. I would die for her. Rao, I would _kill_ for her. And it’s because I love her that sometimes I wish she’d never met me.” Kara choked out a sob, and Kal looked at the floor between them. “And now… _now_ you want to swoop in and do the right thing?”

“You’re searching for Jeremiah. You have Cadmus…”

“Yeah, well. I don’t shirk my responsibilities because they’re inconvenient.” Kara drew herself up taller, straightening her shoulders. “I’ve got this, Kal. You know what they say. Women _are_ much better at multitasking.”

He shook his head. “Just think about it. Please.”

“Do you even want to help him because it’s the right thing to do, or are you trying to make up for me?”

“Gotta say, it’s a little of both, Kara. Call me if you change your mind. Let me help if I can.”

Kara jerked her head in acknowledgment as he left her alone in the empty conference room.

***

“Alex?”

Alex looked up from the Black Mercy toxin swimming beneath her microscope. The live sample was definitely more troubling than what they’d drawn from Cat’s blood, suggesting it had been designed to mask the worst of its effects. Only when she straightened up and stretched out her back did she realize Vasquez, with her military adherence to protocol, had called Alex by her first name while on duty.

“What’s up?”

“Your fingerprints came back.” Vasquez took a breath and entered the room, her strides less certain than usual as she walked toward Alex with a tablet in her hand. Vasquez didn’t rattle easily, but she handed over the tablet like a liquid explosive.

“You found something?” Alex tapped the screen, seeing a standard side-by-side set of prints for comparison. Green highlights on the right. A match to someone in the DEO database. Progress.

“Something big.”

Alex scanned the print match before swiping left to see the identity of the person who’d been helping put Cat Grant through hell. The tablet tumbled from her nerveless fingers and shattered on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you've enjoyed this chapter of the virtual season. Questions always welcome too!
> 
> Major props to supercattuccino ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/krystalgoderitch) | [tumblr](http://supercattuccino.tumblr.com/ask)), spaceshipsarecool ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipsarecool) | [tumblr](http://spaceshipsarecool.tumblr.com/ask)) and musetotheworld ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/musetotheworld) | [tumblr](http://musetotheworld.tumblr.com/ask)) for their beta work on all episodes so far!


	7. Act IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Supergirl Virtual Season… Cat wasn’t exactly dressed?

Yet again we’re in awe of @pinkrabbitpro ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkrabbitpro) | [tumblr](https://pinkrabbitpro.tumblr.com)). Feel free to "shower" her with praise!


	8. Act IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat learns of Jeremiah when Alex comes looking for answers. Frustrations between the Danvers sisters boil over. Cat gets the chance to find out everything she ever wanted to know about Krypton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another amazing title gif created by @xy0009 ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xy0009) | [tumblr](http://xy0009.tumblr.com))

The main door clanged shut and Cat glanced up from her book, curious to see Alex Danvers striding toward her cell. Alex was white as a ghost, setting Cat’s own nerves jangling. “What’s wrong?” Cat demanded, slipping off her glasses. Alex stopped and used her thumbprint to open the door. “Is it Cadmus? Did you find something?”

Getting to her feet as the door swung open, Cat realized Alex was trembling. Worse than Cadmus meant only one thing. “Is it Kara?” If those bastards had struck out at Kara, Cat would go back and kill them herself.

Alex grunted in dismissal. “Did you remember anything else?”

Cat tilted her head, watching the agent shrewdly. “I assume you’re after something in particular.”

Motioning to the bunk, Alex indicated Cat should sit as she began to pace the small confines of the cell.

Cat observed her, noting the dark circles under her makeup. Something was keeping Alex Danvers up at night.

“Has Kara ever talked about our family?”

“She said they died in a fire. I assume they technically did,” Cat added quietly. Knowing what she did now, pieced together with parts of Superman’s lore, more of the story made sense. Each realization weighed on her as she built the whole narrative, and left her all the more stunned Kara was still so optimistic.

“Not her birth parents. _My_ family.”

“Kara says very little about family for obvious reasons. You’re the notable exception. She often mentioned her sister rather proudly, in fact.”

Alex blinked. “I need you to look at some pictures. See if you recognize anyone.”

Whatever snippy comment she was tempted to make, Cat bit it back. She made a gimme gesture for the tablet. A standard profile card filled the screen, most of the details redacted apart from the image of a man, crew-cut and heavyset, staring down the camera.

“I assume these aren’t my Tinder matches while I was away.”

“Ms. Grant…”

“Fine.” Cat swiped through the faces as Alex continued to pace, her nerves slowly infecting Cat’s own. Not one of them familiar, although many fit the vaguely military profiles of the men who’d guarded her. “I assume these are all DEO employees? As tests go, that was pathetically obvious.”

Alex snatched the device, tapped a few times and handed it back. This time she stood over Cat, watching for even a flicker of reaction.

Cat’s heart thudded when she got fifteen or so men in. Memories rose, brief and fragmented like sputtering flames. His eyes. The warmth of his calloused hand. _Let Supergirl come to you._

“Him,” Cat said softly, holding the screen out for Alex to see.

Alex’s whole frame sagged when she saw what she’d been waiting for. “He was hurting you?” she choked out.

“No. I don’t…” Cat frowned, trying to remember. “He was controlling the tank. Clearly he knows whatever science they were using, but I don’t think he did it willingly.”

Alex took off again, back to her pacing. “What else?”

“He was a prisoner, I think.” Cat sorted through the jumbled images in her head. Finally, she was doing something to contribute. She’d never been one for playing the damsel. “He had some sort of bracelet he fiddled with a lot. I got the sense it kept him in check. Shocks, maybe?”

“Did he look…?”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I remember him with cuts and bruises. Lil–Whoever was running things wasn’t very nice to him. And unfortunately, even less nice to me.”

Alex pulled at her lower lip, lost in thought.

“This man. He’s your father? Kara’s foster father?”

That got a brief dip of her head in response.

This was far more than she’d unearthed with J’onn, and she didn’t trust those memories entirely. They were clearer, and felt real in a way other parts of the experience didn’t. Perhaps because they weren’t so tinged with fear.

“Did he get out before the building…?”

Alex’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with fresh panic. “I… don’t know. The site is still being searched.”

“I have this vague memory of him holding my hand, telling me to wait for Kara…” Cat’s frown deepened. “I think he was doing their bidding, but he was trying to help me as best he could.”

“Thank you,” Alex offered quietly, taking the tablet from Cat’s hand before her features settled into a grim expression. “Kara’s here. Do you want to see her?”

Cat recognized the veneer for what it was, knew all too well the hurt concealed behind those hardened eyes. She wasn’t the only person in Kara’s life who often hid behind a mask of impassivity.

“Is she asking for me?” Cat asked, allowing the deflection.

“She will be, knowing her.” Alex opened the cell door, too forceful in her rush. “And you must be ready to stretch your legs again, right?”

“Lead the way.” Cat got the distinct impression if she didn’t follow, she might just be dragged along.

***

“M’gann?” Maggie hoisted the box higher on her hip and looped the bags over her wrist so she could open the back door to the bar. As usual, it was unlocked, even as the rest of the building was shuttered and dark. “Oh sure, the one time you’re not beaming creepy ass messages into my head.”

She made her way upstairs, to what was unofficially called the Dorms. Nudging the door open with her foot, she finally found the erstwhile Martian “You want this crap or not?”

M’gann jumped. She made her way from the freshly made up bunks to take the bags, and Maggie set the box down on a long table with a grunt.

“Thanks,” M’gann acknowledged, unpacking it with quick motions. “None of this will be missed?”

“It’s basically lost property. Cases that got thrown out, but we’re assholes who don’t return what we seized in the first place. I’m not sure about sizes, just grabbed stuff that had life in it, and some of the training gear that just got replaced. We change our department gym shirts more often than a soccer team.”

“It’s good timing. Got some Phorians coming in from Opal City tonight, not one of them even twenty yet. No parents. They’ve had a rough time since they landed.” M’gann lifted a pair of pants to check the quality. “I’ve got a lead on some construction work and a house they can crash in, but I have to set them up first, get them under the radar.”

“Earth as welcoming as ever, huh?”

M’gann raised her eyebrow in a way that said Maggie didn’t know the half of it. “You get your trouble the other night sorted? Whatever it was that had you dragging other humans in here?”

“You know, you should be glad I brought Danvers.” Maggie handed over some sneakers from the box. “Since her boss is one of your crew. Just when you thought you were alone, huh?”

A momentary silence, while M’gann folded and refolded the same gray t-shirt. “You hear about the Infernian? That’s just a cover, right?”

Maggie noted the evasion curiously but didn’t press, especially as her guilt over Scorcher welled up again. “Yeah, she’s not exactly in a great place, but she’s alive. At least she _was_. Damn Cadmus site is rubble now. I figure they protected their investment though.” She sure as hell hoped so.

“Listen, you can keep beating yourself up, or you can look at it the way I do. The killers, the wannabe terrorists, the predators… they’re as big a risk to everyone here as they are the humans. It may not be justice, but it stops them taking innocent aliens in their place. You learn along the way that sometimes ‘not the worst’ has to be good enough.”

“I know, but I don’t–”

“Worried the new girlfriend won’t approve?” There was the inevitable teasing. Maggie lobbed a spare pillow at her.

“Danvers is not… stay out of my head, Martian.”

“I don’t need to be in your head to see your interest in this one. NASA can spot it on their satellites.”

“Good luck with the kids,” Maggie groaned, making her way towards the exit. “See you around.”

***

As Cat approached the room, the doors opened on Kara with a Star Trek swish. Maybe their technicians would do contract work at Cat’s place, because Carter would go nuts for the effect. The steady ache of missing him had settled low in Cat’s chest. Not for the first time since opening her eyes and discovering she’d escaped Cadmus, Cat wanted to run straight to him, to hell with altered brain chemistry. A brief call could only do so much. Still, the thought of endangering him for even a second made being around him unthinkable. Just as unbearable was the thought of disappointing him. If she was going to foam at the mouth at the sight of aliens, he might never forgive her.

No supersuit today. Kara had opted for one of her beloved cardigans, a deep navy paired with a plaid shirt and green pants that complemented neither, but did wonders for the shape of those long legs. Blinking away the inappropriate thought, Cat realized she was interrupting something.

A hologram held the floor in front of Kara, the lights dimmed to make the image more visible. The woman, projected over a shiny black platform, was swathed in expensive-looking blue robes that were tied with a thin gold belt that reminded Cat of Kara’s suit. All a little early-nineties for Cat’s taste, but the family resemblance was undeniable, from the sculpted jawline to the crinkle of kindness around the eyes. She had the feeling she’d seen that stunning face somewhere before.

“Your sister said I should come find you,” Cat said finally. “But if you can point me the right way back through this maze, I’ll go back to my quarters and wait.”

“Hold on,” Kara said, her focus still on the hologram. “Were you bored?” She turned. There was a hint of red around her eyes, and Cat’s heart clenched.

“I have a book to finish.” Cat turned to leave. Only she had to ask, in their post-secret relationship. It would go against every instinct not to. “Your imaginary friend?” She knew better already, but it felt like a handy test of their new arrangement, free from secrets.

“Mom,” Kara said softly, and Cat’s breath hitched at the confirmation, at the connection Kara was offering. “Meet Cat Grant. Cat? This is my mother, Alura. Or what I have left of her, anyway.”

Alura turned her gaze on Cat, so lifelike as to be unsettling. Cat tried not to fidget as she was sized up by Kara’s mother. “Catherine Grant. CEO of CatCo Worldwide Media. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Kara hummed under her breath, taking Cat by the elbow and moving her a little closer to Alura. Tingles swept up Cat’s arm at the contact, a reminder that whatever Cadmus had done to her, they hadn’t corrupted her deepest, most private feelings for the woman next to her.

“Did you make this?” Cat asked.

“My mother sent it with me, but it took Alex and her DEO geeks to get it working. I’ve taught her Earth knowledge too, mostly about the people in my life. It makes conversations… less frustrating.”

“Did you tell her about your promotion?”

“Kara Danvers has recently been promoted to junior reporter,” Alura answered.

Kara rubbed the tip of her nose. “It’s not really my mother,” she explained, as though worried Cat might think her delusional. “But it has her memories. Sometimes her personality even slips in there, or maybe that’s wishful thinking.” Fresh tears glistened in Kara’s eyes, but they didn’t fall. She cleared her throat. “Um… so, if you have questions… about me, Krypton, our history, culture… Alura can likely answer them. Mom, please give Cat access to everything in your database.”

“You’re going to leave me alone with her?”

“This room isn’t locked, so you can visit any time you get bored. Just say her name to activate her.” Kara considered for a moment. “I mean, I can stay awhile yet. I don’t want you to feel we have to hang out just because you’re here.”

“If you don’t have to rush off… a problem shared?” Cat ventured, moving out of the hologram’s line of sight. After confinement, she was enjoying a bigger room to roam around. She missed the click of her heels in acoustics like this, the soft flap of silk slippers nowhere near as satisfying. “This way you get your mother’s wisdom and mine. Hope she can keep up.”

Kara picked at some lint on her pants. “There’s a bit of backstory you should know first.”

Cat tried not to smirk at Kara volunteering information for a change. “About you?” Her tone gentled, and she gave Kara a half smile. “Sounds like an exclusive,” she added out of habit.

“About me and my cousin.”

“Superman,” Cat said, relieved when no animosity for the Man of Steel swept through her this time. Kara nodded.

“You were supposed to know me first.” Kara toyed aimlessly with the hem of her top, not meeting Cat’s gaze.

Shifting closer, Cat tilted her head. “How so?”

“Kal was just a baby when he left Krypton. I was thirteen.” Kara finally looked up, and there was a wealth of pain and regret in her eyes. “I was supposed to take care of him. Teach him about our culture. Guide him to be the hero this planet needed.”

Cat snorted. “Is that the way of your people? Put the man first? Damn your wants and feelings so long as he succeeds, even if you’re more capable? And here I thought Earth was a step back for you.”

“Cat,” Kara protested. “That’s not…”

“They sent you, a thirteen-year-old girl, halfway across the damn universe to babysit? Why shouldn’t you get the legacy? The accolades?”

Kara opened her mouth to refute that, only to close it again in a hurry. “That’s not… that’s not the point,” she grumbled.

“Fine.” Cat crossed her arms, waiting for Kara to continue. Alura blinked patiently in front of them.

Scrubbing her hands over her face, Kara hissed through clenched teeth. “The point is… I didn’t do what I promised my parents. I didn’t take care of him. He grew up without me.”

“Not all contingencies were accounted for,” Alura supplied, more mournful than helpful.

Cat tried to imagine preparing something like this virtual reality for Carter. It seemed a million miles beyond her first stilted form of it, when she sent Adam’s overstuffed baby book with him when he moved away. A project in those last few horrible weeks of knowing she was giving up, that she’d failed in her quest to juggle CatCo and motherhood. She’d spent the hours she couldn’t sleep writing down stories her father had told her, justifications and apologies, pictures and mementoes glued into the pages, until the silk bound book could hold no more. She’d never dared to ask him if he’d read it.

She eyed Kara, seeing in the slump of her shoulders how this particular shame weighed on her. “He seems to have turned out fine.” Cat paused, studying Kara as she bent her head. “Wait. He was a baby, but you… you were thirteen.” She’d been so greedy with her newfound access that the details were just now sinking in.

“Yeah,” Kara confirmed, so quietly Cat almost didn’t hear.

Only slightly younger than Carter, stuffed in a pod and hurtled across the galaxy, alone. “You… You would have been old enough to…”

“Remember?” Kara guessed. “I still do. I paint pictures sometimes of Argo City. My home. The silver spires reaching toward a red sky. But I can’t recreate the way the air smelled. I can’t be in a crowd and hear my language all around me. My family, my friends, my world… it’s all gone. The longer I’m on this planet, the more fragile the memories get. Coming here, it’s like I can recharge them.”

Cat finally understood why Kara’s eyes reflected a wisdom so much older than her years. Why she so often caught glimpses of unspeakable grief in that beautiful ocean blue, even when Kara’s smiles could light up a room like the sun.

“I’m glad my cousin never had to go through that. You can’t miss what you never had, right? I won’t bore you with the details of why things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to…” Kara glanced up, and Cat gave her a look of pure incredulity. “Fine. I won’t bore you with them right _now_.” Her lips lifted in a flicker of a smile before it faded away.

“Hmm.”

“But… by the time I finally got here, Kal-El was already grown.”

“He took you in? Trained you?” Perhaps Kara’s cover stories were bigger lies than she knew. “Only you didn’t start playing hero in your teens, did you?”

Kara scrunched her nose, and Cat suspected they’d just gotten to the point of this illuminating little visit. “No. He… left me with the Danvers. They were friends of his. Scientists. Kal trusted them.”

“I see.” Cat stopped her aimless wandering and began to circle Kara, the way she would a fumbling employee who was explaining why they’d missed a deadline. “He let you down.”

“Here at the DEO, there’s… an alien. A Daxamite. Theirs was a sister planet of Krypton’s, wiped out when my world was destroyed. He arrived a few weeks ago in a pod like mine. And not a child, although he acts like one most of the time,” Kara added with a note of pique that had Cat arching one eyebrow in response. How rare, the being that could rattle that sunny disposition. “But he’s lost his home, and he suddenly has powers, and he needs… guidance.”

There it was, Kara’s biggest weakness: an overdeveloped sense of obligation. “So, you’re going to adopt a stray?”

Kara gave her a withering look, hands on her hips in a shadow of her own heroic pose. “I don’t have an apartment full of puppies and kittens, no matter what you assume about me.”

“Then what? I’m waiting for you to tie all this together. Surely Snapper has taught you something about weaving a story while I was… away.”

“It was just over a week, Cat. Should I have learned it all already?” More of that Supergirl sass, unleashed in Kara Danvers form. Seeing both Kara’s personas blend was… intriguing. “Kal offered to train him, but this is my chance to live up to the promise I made my family. I can help him be the hero he has the potential to be. I don’t have to abandon him.”

“Are we ignoring the elephant in the room?” Cat asked pointedly. “Adam?”

Kara abruptly blanched. “No, Ms. Grant,” she said, zipping across the room to where Cat had stopped roaming. Invoking Cat’s title was surely a retreat, using formality as a shield. “That… I wasn’t…”

“It’s fine.” Cat waved her off. Who better to consult on matters of abandonment? “I suppose I can understand your cousin’s position a bit better than you can. We both likely did what we thought was best. What was right for the children we loved but weren’t prepared to care for.”

“Oh Rao,” Kara muttered. “I’m an idiot. I really wasn’t trying to…”

“You’re one of the very few people to know the whole story with Adam and not judge me for it. Where others would have been disillusioned, you just tried to glue my family back together. Why can’t you extend that same kindness to your own flesh and blood?”

“I swear, I didn’t…”

Cat held up her hand, and Kara lapsed into mortified silence. “Letting go of Adam was the hardest choice I ever made, and I will always wonder if it was the right one, even though I _know_ I was failing him as a mother. Doesn’t mean I don’t get hurt when I see all the ways he hasn’t needed me. I imagine your cousin feels the same. Did you even consult him before plunking planes in the bay?”

Shaking her head, Kara looked to the ceiling in exasperation. “He still wasn’t ready to train me, not that I’d asked in a while. But apparently he’s ready now, and he wants to take away the one chance I have to live up to my family’s legacy so he can–”

“Make up for abandoning you?”

“Cat…” Kara closed her eyes.

“Perhaps I would do the same. But the choice is yours, Kara, or, more specifically, the choice belongs to the man-child you must have stashed somewhere in this facility. I assume he is the audition for Stomp that happens somewhere on my cell block four times a day? Have you asked him what he wants?”

Kara bit her lip in lieu of an answer.

“You’re kidding,” Cat huffed. “Have I taught you nothing about agency? About choice?”

“Kal and I need to work a few things out between ourselves first,” Kara maintained, folding her arms. “We’ll ask Mon-El when we know what we can actually offer him.”

She moved to the small bench in the corner, leaving room for Cat to sit beside her. “I thought he’d feel like a piece of home, but Daxam is just a pale imitation.”

“Someone’s a snob,” Cat teased. “Can I ask you something?” She sat down on the end of the bench, before moving closer. After all the fear and isolation, it was a luxury to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Kara. Strange how being pressed against a body that could level an entire city should feel like the safest place Cat could possibly be. “Do you _want_ to train him?”

“It’s not about what I want…”

“Of course it is. Sooner or later, we all face that moment when we disappoint our family, when we chose our own path. And not to be blunt, but any obligation you had? Was to people who are already gone. You don’t owe them anything anymore.”

“It’s like… Is it selfish to say I have enough to do? All this Cadmus stuff, not just you, but trying to find my foster father–”

“Alex mentioned that. She had me confirm I saw him before she dropped me off here. I’m starting to feel a little like an unwanted toddler being passed around the Babysitters’ Club.”

“You saw…” Kara swallowed. “Wait, Alex did what?”

“It was nothing, honestly. Some pictures, I confirmed he was there. We talked about whether he got out of the building before the explosion, and she said she didn’t know.”

“She must have proof.” Kara leaned back against the wall. “If she came to you, there must have been a development. Are you… are you okay here? I need to talk to her.”

“You’re leaving me alone with your mother. What could go wrong?” Cat joked, but she was touched at the gift Kara had given her. Access to her history, to so much of her life that Cat never expected to see.

Kara chuckled. “Just… don’t ask for too many embarrassing stories from my childhood, okay?”

“That’s exactly where I intend to start,” Cat said, tapping her temple as though Kara had read her mind. This was the distraction she needed, but then again, Kara knew that. Kara knew _her_ , better than anyone else ever had. “Thank you.”

Blushing, Kara glanced back at her mother. “I wish… She would have liked you.” Kara laid a gentle hand on Cat’s forearm, letting it linger. “She would have been proud that I worked for a woman like you.”

“She would have been proud of you.” Cat laid her hand on top of Kara’s, willing her to believe that. “How could anyone not be?”

“I hope so.” Kara walked over and gestured to the keypad. “This blue button here? Press it if you need anything. Winn or Agent Vasquez will be happy to help you.” She went to the door, hesitating after it opened. “I’ll see you later?” Her attention shifted from Cat to her mother and back again.

“Of course,” Cat promised. Even if she hadn’t agreed to be locked up here indefinitely, Cat would happily wait all day for Kara to return. “I hope Alex isn’t doing anything stupid.”

“Me too.” Kara sighed, the door sliding shut behind her.

Humming to herself for a moment, Cat then turned her attention on Alura. There were so many questions, Cat wasn’t even sure where to begin. “Can you… can you show me pictures?”

“Of course. Depending on the subject matter, I have access to billions of images from the Kryptonian archives.”

Cat took an unsteady breath. “Show me where Kara grew up. Show me her home.”

Alura smiled, and Cat wanted to believe she’d just gotten a cosmic nod of approval.

***

“Vasquez!” Kara brushed past Winn, managing not to ask why he had an alien caterpillar crawling up his back. Any other time she’d want in on the hazing, but her to-do list had already expanded past the point even a super assistant could wrangle. “Where’s Alex?”

“You know,” Vasquez said, turning around from her screens, where at least three different situations were being monitored. “I’m not actually a Danvers’ messaging service. That goes for your guests in the cells, too.”

“Sorry. Did Alex say anything to you about her father? She sent Cat to see me, who might press the call button for you or Winn to take her back soon, sorry about that too.”

“Prisoners are actually my job.” Vasquez smiled for a second to let Kara know she was forgiven. “But Alex didn’t tell you? We found Jeremiah’s prints on some evidence she brought in. She went to the recovery site.”

“When?”

“A little while ago. You didn’t miss her by much. Guess she knew you’d catch up.”

“She didn’t tell me. Not about the prints, not about any of this.” Kara clenched her fists. This was just like Alex when she got an idea in her head. Total tunnel vision. Only this felt personal. Alex had taken the time to consult with everyone else.

“Sounds like she thinks you have enough on your plate, ma’am,” Vasquez suggested, but Kara put the pieces together for herself.

Alex was deliberately excluding her. No way would Kara let that stand.

***

It was the first time Kara had seen the destruction of Cadmus’ lab from the air. The building was now nothing more than a crater in the earth, the debris scattered for blocks. Cadmus never did anything halfway, she thought sourly.

Agents crawled all over the rubble, but Alex was easy to locate. As usual, she’d already thrown her helmet aside. “Were you going to tell me?” Kara snapped before her boots even touched the ground.

Alex staggered back a step before her features closed off and she moved away. “You have other things on your mind,” she threw over her shoulder as Kara stomped after her.

“You think getting a lead on Jeremiah isn’t something I want to know about?” Kara halted for a second, incredulous. When Alex gave a jerky shrug and kept walking, Kara’s anger started to give way to concern. “Alex, what is going on with you?”

“You’re busy, Kara.” Alex maneuvered over the rubble, and Kara couldn’t shake the feeling Alex was trying to get away from her. “Clearly you don’t have a lot of room for…” Alex stopped, her jaw tightening.

“For what?” Kara asked quietly.

“For the rest of us,” Alex muttered

“Alex…”

“You probably don’t want to come any further. We’ve detected kryptonite in this area.” Alex stopped in the middle of some green-tinged rubble, and Kara was hurt her sister had deliberately gone somewhere Kara shouldn’t follow.

She charged forward anyway, even as her muscles quivered and her stomach roiled. She stopped a few feet away, swaying slightly. Alex pursed her lips, watching her, but she made no move to return or help.

“What’s going on?” Kara insisted.

“He could be here, Kara. My father. Maybe he’s buried under this rubble because I didn’t find him soon enough. Because I keep letting myself get distracted. Because I don’t have any _help_.”

Kara looked around at the destruction, knowing her powers were useless here. She watched the DEO agents sifting through the debris, spying a few of them tossing stones laced with green into a bucket. At least they were clearing it. “He’s my father too, Alex. Something you seem to forget. You’re shutting me out of your investigation. Keeping me in the dark. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was here.”

“Like you told me about you training Mon-El?”

“What does that… Is that what this is about? You’re mad at me for wanting to live up to my legacy? I was sent here to raise Kal, keep him safe, and help him become part of this world.”

“Yeah. You were sent here to look out for one of your own,” Alex agreed, her tone sliding into something resembling contempt. “Your cousin. Your _family_.”

“Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

“It’s not a bad thing, Kara. Putting family first is what you should do.”

“Right.” Kara crossed her arms defensively. “So why does it feel…”

“But Mon-El isn’t your family. _I am._ Or at least I thought I was. My father has been missing for over a decade. You keep _promising_ me you’ll help bring him home, but then there’s always something else for you to worry about.” Tears gathered in Alex’s eyes faster than she could blink them away. “No matter how much we try to be there for you, no matter how much we sacrifice, no matter how much we love you, the Danvers always come second, don’t they?”

Kara sucked down a ragged breath, her chest aching as if she’d been struck. “Alex…”

“You know, you said it when you were under the Red K. We’re not sisters. You meant that. Deep down, we’re just some cheap knock off for the real thing. Mon-El, who you don’t even _know_ , matters more than me and Mom. Matters more than Dad. Krypton always comes first with you.”

“That’s not true,” Kara pleaded as the bond between her and her sister began to fray, coming apart before her eyes. “We just don’t deal with things the same way. We can’t all go off on a hair trigger like you, Alex. Throwing yourself at Henshaw like that, getting yourself hurt. Sometimes you have to think before putting yourself and everyone else at risk!”

“Forget it,” Alex snapped, a sob slipping from her throat that tore at Kara’s heart. “I am sorry I even asked, or believed for even a _second_ that maybe… _maybe_ I mattered more than your boss, than Clark, than some alien you don’t even like. So go ahead. Live up to your legacy. I hope it makes you happy, since being a Danvers sure as hell never did.”

Alex turned her back, walking away, and Kara stumbled after her. She grew more nauseous and pained with every step, but Alex’s words hurt more than kryptonite ever could. She grabbed Alex’s arm, spinning her around and pulling her into a desperate hug. “I’m sorry… Rao, Alex. I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“Let me go.” Alex refused to hug her back, and Kara felt even sicker. She could lose anything, everything, but she couldn’t lose this. Not Alex.

“No,” Kara got out around the lump in her throat. “Never. _Never._ ”

Alex closed her eyes, sinking against her sister a little in exhaustion.

“You’re right,” Kara whispered, trembling. “I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking. But I never meant I wasn’t going to put you first. You’re always first, Alex. _Always._ ”

“Then why am I the only one looking for him? Why am I the one who doesn’t sleep? Who spends all her free time trying to bring him home? I get you want to help people, but I’m your sister, _I_ need help, and you’re never there for this.”

“I never thought I was any use to you with all that. All I’m good for is my powers, but there’s been no one to fight, no places to search, no new people to investigate. And I just thought I’d be…” Her voice broke. “That I would just remind you of why he’s gone. If you’d never met me, he’d still be here…”

Alex’s arms finally closed around her, and Kara sobbed.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I keep hurting you, and I don’t…”

Alex shushed her, squeezing her tighter, the Kryptonite letting Kara feel it fully. “I don’t need your powers, Kara. I need the woman with the skills to set up an event for a thousand people with two days’ notice. I need the reporter who can use her credentials to get me places where badges get doors slammed in my face. I need someone to bring me pizza while we search through file after file on Cadmus. I don’t need Supergirl. I need my _sister_.”

Slowly, they separated, eyeing each other. The storm clouds that had dogged their relationship over the years seemed to be clearing at last. Kara laid her hand over her heart. “You’ve got her.”

“Yeah?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” Kara promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you've enjoyed this chapter of the virtual season. Questions always welcome too!
> 
> Major props to supercattuccino ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/krystalgoderitch) | [tumblr](http://supercattuccino.tumblr.com/ask)), spaceshipsarecool ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipsarecool) | [tumblr](http://spaceshipsarecool.tumblr.com/ask)) and musetotheworld ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/musetotheworld) | [tumblr](http://musetotheworld.tumblr.com/ask)) for their beta work on all episodes so far!


	9. Act V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Supergirl Virtual Season… Alex got a startling break in their investigation.

Alex and Vasquez wizardry from @supergaysupercat ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/octoplods) | [tumblr](https://supergaysupercat.tumblr.com)). Show some love!


	10. Act V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J’onn learns he may not be the only Green Martian left. Cat risks going home. The superfriends add to their numbers as they band together for a new mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another amazing title gif created by @xy0009 ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/xy0009) | [tumblr](http://xy0009.tumblr.com))

J’onn had requested the next mindreading session take place in his office, since his reinstatement to full duty meant a backlog of paperwork Cat could certainly sympathize with. If his management style was anything like her own, the sequestering was likely to avoid the distractions of employees wandering over with questions every five minutes. Despite her glass walls, with Kara as a guardian of the space outside, Cat’s office had been a sanctuary when she needed it. Given the horrors and secrecy involved in J’onn’s paperwork, she’d have been tempted to build a barricade as well.

She relaxed on the surprisingly comfortable couch that took up most of one wall, J’onn wheeling his desk chair into position in front of her.

“Today I thought we’d try for more independent memories, see what else we can shake loose. Focusing on Lillian may be crowding out other details that let us identify these people.”

“Whatever you say, you’re the psychic.”

“Mind reader.”

“Is that the politically correct term?” Cat mocked just a little, because the ordeal was unpleasant enough without having a little fun first.

“No, just the accurate one,” J’onn answered with an even deeper scowl than usual. “I’ll try to stay away from anything personal, but you do have some control over it. Guide me away from anything you’d rather I didn’t see. Ready?”

“You could buy a girl a drink first,” Cat drawled, but she closed her eyes and waited for the trickling inside her skull to start, shivering at the feel of it.

_More terrible food, more cold showers,_ she grumbled. _Sorry it’s not more of a show, but their shitty bathrooms didn’t even have mirrors._

She could feel J’onn’s irritated glare without batting an eyelid.

_Wait._ J’onn almost raised his voice as Cat flicked through images from her failed escape attempt, the day not-actually-Lillian had shown up to begin the experiments. _The door you charged into, can you focus on that again?_

_I’m not a DVR,_ Cat sniped, but all the same she tried to recall it. It made the jumble of her memory fragments easier to handle, picking out seemingly inane details and letting J’onn filter through what might be relevant. The adrenaline of trying to run came back, fainter, just the hint of metal on her tongue, as she tried not to give into the giddy panic she’d felt right before the pain.

_There._ J’onn seized on something. _I think we can explain your Lillian idea a little._

_What?_ Cat’s eyelids flickered, but she resisted the temptation to open them and lose the picture. _If you’re saying she has the charm of a steel door, I won’t argue._

_Look below the handle, that drum that’s propping it up. Everything else has been stripped, from what we’ve seen. That there is a LexCorp logo._

“No,” Cat spoke out loud again, shaking her head to clear the feeling of J’onn having been in her thoughts. “I know branding, and that’s the post-Lex rebrand. Whatever supplies they’re getting are coming out of L-Corp, and that means recently.”

“It’s a lead, anyway.”

“But not to Lillian.” Cat sighed. “She divested her interests in L-Corp when she accepted the Cabinet nomination. Who knew Luthors had ethics?”

“I’ll put my best agents on the case and oversee the investigation myself,” J’onn assured her.

“Kara has an in with the daughter,” Cat reminded him. “A journalist might spook them less than the fake FBI crashing in with warrants, and Kara did convince Lena to be forthcoming for an article or two. You might not want to tip Kara off as to why we’re asking just yet though. She can be hotheaded, as I’m sure you’ve seen.”

“Warrants are a ways off yet.” J’onn shifted back behind his desk. “A move like this is going to take seventeen kinds of permission, but it’s beyond time the focus of this agency included stopping Cadmus.”

“Bet they didn’t have this much bureaucracy on Mars,” she said. “Aren’t you ever tempted to just… skip ahead? You can fly and read minds. You really need the approval from some Wilbur in Washington?”

“No, but it keeps me employed.” J’onn stood and made his way back to the couch. “And it’s none of my business, but I saw today and last time how much you miss your sons. As a father, I can only tell you that being with them, having them with you, is almost always better than not. Stop being so hard on yourself. Nobody’s asking you to be a martyr.”

“But what if–”

“Carter is human, is he not?” Cat rolled her eyes. “Then he has nothing to fear from you. Think about going home to him. God knows you’ll be more comfortable.”

“I do miss him,” Cat admitted. “But I don’t want him to think less of me. If I suddenly start spewing anti-alien bigotry, he’ll look at me like… well. I don’t want to damage our relationship.”

“Even if you did, you’d recover,” J’onn assured as Cat stood up to leave. He walked her out the door, human agents falling in step behind them as the two of them started down the corridor. “Confusion is to be expected. Don’t let it keep you from the people that matter most. Including Kara. She’s incredibly strong, but she doesn’t take being left behind well. Don’t be careless with her feelings and call it protecting her.”

“Her feelings?” Cat couldn’t keep the intrigue out of her voice. “Those have nothing to do with me.”

“You forget I can see things you don’t admit even to yourself.” They made their way to the elevator bank. “The incident with Superman appears to have been a fluke. You’re no threat to her because of Cadmus, as far as I can tell. The rest? That’s up to you.” The doors opened, and the guards stepped into the elevator with her.

“Thank you, J’onn.” She considered his words as the doors closed. The thought of Carter, of seeing him at last, made up her mind. She’d forced herself to be patient, to do the self-sacrificing thing. Since these alien experts said she wasn’t an immediate threat, she’d risk going home. The first sign of trouble, she’d march right back and have them lock her up.

When she arrived at her cell, the door open wide and the sparse room silently waiting, Cat called out to one of the guards.

“Can you have someone arrange transport for me? It’s about time I went home.”

***

As she strode out the lobby of the perfectly corporate, utterly anonymous building that housed the DEO, Cat braced herself for her usual car service. She assumed Kara would insist on a familiar face to drive Cat home, someone from her usual rotation. Instead, James Olsen waited, propped up against a sporty little number that suggested an early mid-life crisis. She approved of the fiery red at least, pulling her sunglasses down to appreciate it without the tint.

“I’d ask how you’re feeling, but I imagine you’re sick of that question.” He closed her door before jogging around to get in and start the engine.

James pulled out into traffic smoothly, and Cat relaxed a little against her seat. _Safe hands,_ she told herself. Cadmus wouldn’t dare come for her again like this. She sighed, pretending not to notice the black SUV trailing them in the side mirror. While she was glad the DEO had assigned people to monitor and protect her, she didn’t much like the reminder that she needed supervision.

“Did Kara ask you to collect me?”

“No, but I heard Eve making arrangements and took over.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “You need to make any stops, or go straight home?”

“Home is the only place I feel like being right now, but I appreciate the consideration.”

“What about CatCo?” Cat couldn’t tell if he was hopeful or disappointed by the prospect. “I assume you’re sticking close for a bit, but we both know where you spend most of your time.”

“It’s likely the DEO will keep me on a short leash for the foreseeable future. As for CatCo…” Cat eyed her empire a few blocks ahead, where it towered over much of the National City skyline. “I think it’s best it remain in your capable hands for now.” She glanced at him, and James smiled thinly. “The reasons I stepped down haven’t changed, and, if anything, I should stay even further away than originally planned.”

“See how you feel in a few days. We’ll catch up. But I’ll do whatever I can to keep your company running right, I promise.”

Cat’s throat tightened, his devotion unsurprising but desperately welcome.

“Thank you.” They were quiet for a few streets, each lost to their own troubled thoughts. “You will need to be more vigilant,” Cat murmured. “The front page the other day… Kara’s run-in with the protestor…”

James frowned. “Um…” Cat could practically hear the gears furiously turning in his brain at her casual mention of Supergirl’s identity. He and Kara must still be too new for her to catch him up whenever they went out on dates. Cat couldn’t help a proprietary little smile. Loyalty was to be valued, and God knew Kara had plenty of that.

“I’ve been cooped up in the DEO for days, James. I know all about Kara. Her sister. I even met her mother, Alura, so to speak.”

His eyebrows arched at that. “The photo told its own story. I’m supposed to cover it up?”

“Cadmus wants the media to turn on Supergirl. On all aliens. We’re not going to do that.”

“But we still need to report the news, and she did rough him up.” James was defensive, not that Cat blamed him. She wasn’t sure she’d have come down as hard on him two weeks ago, but she felt the power of the media more keenly now. Still, if nothing else, it showed that getting the girl hadn’t compromised his integrity, and Cat couldn’t claim to have been that objective throughout her own career.

“She did,” Cat allowed, perturbed Kara had let her emotions get the better of her. Was it pure ego to suspect she herself had been the cause? “But ‘Supergirl Gets Super Mad?’ We can do better than that.”

“Yeah, Snapper gave me hell for that one, but he also refused to give me a better line.”

“Color me surprised. You’re not a full-time writer, James. Make the ones who work for you do their jobs.” James nodded, keeping his eyes firmly on the road, but a muscle in his jaw was twitching a little.

“I’ll keep in touch in the meantime,” she continued.

“Of course.”

“If I suggest anything you find suspicious… stories, personnel, acquisitions, don’t confront me on it. Call Alex.”

“Not Kara?” He looked away from the road, checking that Cat was serious.

“Kara won’t believe it. She’ll make excuses. Alex will do what’s needed. Or there’s Lucy, if you two can be civil.”

James nodded again, more reluctantly this time. “I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

Cat turned to her own window, hiding the fear etched on her face. “Let’s hope not.”

***

J’onn was waiting when Alex arrived back at the DEO, her pants and polo caked with dirt. A few flecks of kryptonite mixed in with the mud glittered in the light. There was something about the way she moved, so very slow and tired, that made his Martian heart ache.

“Agent Danvers,” he called out, and Alex hesitated, her hand on the locker room door. “A moment.”

With a sigh, Alex followed as he led them up the stairs to an out-of-the-way conference room. She didn’t sit when he did, choosing to linger by the door. “Everything all right, sir?” Her voice was hoarse, her eyes rimmed with red, and the bruises on her neck were lurid.

“That’s my line.” He eyed her worriedly. “Jeremiah?”

“We didn’t find any bodies. Not… human ones.” She stared at the table. “Three aliens died in their cells. We’re running DNA to identify their species and possible identities.”

“I heard.” J’onn leaned forward. “Sit down before you fall down.”

“I’m a mess…” Alex shifted toward the door, trying to get away.

“I don’t care.”

Swallowing thickly, Alex complied, sinking into the chair across from his. She bit her lip, slowly shaking her head. “He was there, J’onn. Helping them. Hurting Cat… All this time, they’ve had him…”

“I know.” J’onn had his own regrets and guilt where Alex’s father was concerned. “While I would love nothing more than to put every man at our disposal on finding him…”

“We have bigger problems to deal with.” Alex pursed her lips. “Story of my life lately.”

“I’m petitioning to make Cadmus one of our priorities. If I can convince Washington, I can dedicate resources to fighting them, which could lead us to Jeremiah.”

“Good luck with that. Who knows who we can trust anymore? We’ve been asleep at the wheel. Cadmus… it’s like they infected everything around me, and I didn’t even notice.”

“Agent Schott told me about the work you’re having him do. I assigned Vasquez to assist.”

“How deep does it go?” Alex mused. “They could have gained control of a media empire if we hadn’t stopped them. They nearly gained control of the DEO.” She made a fist, studying her dirt-covered hand. “I’ve been working with this detective… Sawyer… She was with us during your rescue.”

J’onn nodded, making a mental note to explore Alex’s impression of Sawyer another time. He sensed rare intrigue on her part, but she was being more guarded with him than normal, holding her feelings close to the vest. “What about her?”

“She’s… she has some kind of source there.”

“Is she one of them?” J’onn asked with alarm.

“No,” Alex said quickly. “I don’t think so. She put herself on the line for us. For Cat. But suddenly I’m questioning everything, you know? My instincts are shot.”

J’onn nodded. “Cadmus has proven to be a much greater foe than we gave them credit for.”

“Oh,” Alex blurted, sitting up straighter. “I…” A sliver of a smile came to her lips, cheering J’onn considerably. “I can’t believe I forgot. Maggie…” She raked her uninjured hand through her hair. “Maggie knows someone you’re going to want to meet.”

“Someone? That’s vague.”

“Her name is M’gann,” Alex said, watching him intently.

A shiver went through J’onn’s frame. That had been a common name amongst his people. One he hadn’t heard in hundreds of years. “M’gann,” he repeated slowly.

“Sounds like you might have a lot in common.” Her tone gentled and warmed.

Hope flared in his chest, but J’onn refused to give into it again when he’d been let down so many times before. “Alex, I am the last…”

“But what if you’re not? What if she’s a Green Martian like she claims?”

“You spoke with her?” J’onn swallowed roughly. He’d brought Alex here to cheer her spirits, and somehow, she had lifted his instead. When she reached across the table, he snagged her hand in his, loving this human woman as much as his own daughters.

“I’ll have to introduce you.”

“I’d like that,” he answered quietly. “Now, why don’t you ask me the one thing you’re trying desperately not to think about?”

Alex frowned in confusion.

“What Cat thinks about your sister,” J’onn said with a wink, enjoying Alex’s splutter of protest. “I’m kidding, Alex. I’d never betray her confidence like that.”

“Which means there’s something to betray.” Alex groaned. “What was I just saying about bigger problems?”

***

“How’s Cat?” Kara practically jumped on James the minute he stepped through the door of their superfriends’ office, distracted only by the pizzas he was carrying. “Tell me there’s pineapple on at least one of those, or someone’s going back.”

“There is,” Winn confirmed, trailing behind James with paper bags brimming with potsticker boxes. “And Mr. Corporate Credit Card paid for it all, too.”

“Least I could do,” James said, scrunching his face at Kara. “You know, with the front page and all…”

“Can we just add that to the list of awkward things we’re not quite dealing with?” Kara hoped her smile was kind. “Cat got home okay? I know there’s a detail on her, but if I need to fly over…”

“She’s okay,” James promised. “Well, okay is a stretch, but she’d kick my ass for saying she’s anything else. I saw her into the penthouse myself, and Carter’s going to spend time with her tomorrow, until they sort out the custody changes again.”

“Good.” She should have gone over in person to check on her, but setting up this meeting tonight had taken time, even with Kara’s speed.

She heard the clink of bottles from the elevator bay and moved out into the hall to greet her sister. Kara hoped she could prove once and for all how important Alex was to her, and how seriously she took their new mission.

“I brought drinks like you asked,” Alex announced once she rounded the corner. “But it’s been one hell of a week, and I’m sore, and exhausted, and I don’t have it in me to _feel_ one more damn thing. I need to get some kind of sleep, and then start looking for dad again in the morning.”

“Alex–”

“And I know it’s important we check in, make sure we’re good, but–”

“Alex!”

Grabbing the sleeve of her jacket, Kara dragged her sister the rest of the way into the superfriends’ office. It was kind of impressive how much booze Alex had managed to carry despite her injured hand, Kara noted as she took the tote bags from her and set them down.

“You…” Alex began, only to fall silent when she saw James and Winn and a whiteboard with a picture of her father taped to the top of it.

“Hey, Alex,” Winn greeted from the table against the far wall, where he was opening the pizza boxes. “Kara, I think the whiteboard is a little retro. I can set up a virtual one we can all scribble on from our phones.”

“Go nerd it up then. Ta-da!” Kara gestured to the desks, transformed into a center of operations. She’d written Operation Valjean across the whiteboard. Stacks of maps lined the table, and photos of all the players they knew about or suspected were pinned to the wall behind. “I’m sure now that J’onn is back there’ll be an official DEO task force, but in the meantime, we can get started, just like we did for Cat. We have proof Jeremiah was there, and we’re going to find him again.”

Alex pulled her into a hug, shielding her injured arm. “Thank you,” she murmured against Kara’s shoulder. “This is just what we needed. What _I_ needed. You know I’m not good at all this stuff.”

“I’m the best damn executive assistant Cat Grant ever had, and that is a high bar. I’m putting those organizing skills to use on this. I called Eliza, too.”

“Kara.” Alex pulled back.

“Wouldn’t you want to know? We haven’t had any real progress lately. She deserves the same spark of hope we have. Plus, you two and talking about feelings… I did you a favor.”

“Fine. Why Valjean?” Alex asked, accepting one of the beers Kara fished out of the bag. “Twist the top for me?” She waggled her brace as an excuse. Kara pulled the cap off, putting the bottle back in Alex’s waiting hand.

“We’re going to _bring him home_.” Because really, Alex had cried at _Les Misérables_ right along with Anne Hathaway, whether she admitted it or not. “And okay, the song is about bringing Marius home, but Valjean sings it _and_ he’s the father figure. It makes sense.”

“It makes sense you’re a nerd,” James teased on his way past with a slice of pepperoni. “Speaking of giant nerds, Clark just sent me a text saying he’s back in Metropolis with the new guy. How did I not know about that? Apparently your Daxam dude gets grabby in flight. Clark damn near dropped him in Lake Michigan.”

“You really did it?” Alex almost choked on her first mouthful of beer. “Kara, that’s… I’m sorry he wasn’t the link to home you hoped he would be, but…”

Kara shrugged. She’d made a temporary kind of peace with it, if only to stop her head feeling like it might burst. “The DEO will be glad he’s not making all that noise anymore.”

“Vasquez will be thrilled,” Winn added before biting into another slice.

“I finally got to tell J’onn about M’gann, seeing as the first time was wasted on Henshaw.” Alex sighed in something like relief. With everything going on, Kara had almost forgotten about it. “I hope that works out better than that man-child of yours did.”

“I hope so too,” Kara said, squeezing Alex’s left arm. “It would be nice for him to have that connection to home.”

“You sure you’re okay about Mon-El?” Alex asked again.

“You were right. He isn’t family. _You_ are, and by your side is where I need to be right now.” They shared a soft smile before Kara glanced back at James and Winn. “And Kal has his work cut out for him. Mon-El is a jerk. Trust me, James. You are not missing out on getting to know that frat boy. We don’t need another useless man getting in the way.”

“Hey!” James and Winn protested in unison.

“Not you two, you’re useful,” Kara joked fondly. “Let’s see if we can find anything on–”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Did you invite Vasquez?” Kara asked Winn, zipping across the office to answer it. She was more than a little surprised to see not only Vasquez, but J’onn at her shoulder as well.

“Sorry for crashing your little gathering,” J’onn said, as Kara stood aside and ushered them in.

“How did you get in? I didn’t leave passes with security,” Kara pointed out. They flashed their fake FBI badges in response. “Do you need us to come in to headquarters for something?”

“No, but I’ve spent most of today trying to get an investigation launched into Cadmus, the kidnapping of Cat Grant, and the whereabouts of Jeremiah,” J’onn told them, crossing his arms over his broad chest the way he did before telling them leave was canceled or funding had been cut.

“And?” Alex stiffened.

“Turns out it might not have been all Hank Henshaw.” J’onn accepted the glass of red Winn poured for him. Martians didn’t share the same immunity to alcohol as Kryptonians, and Kara was a little jealous. “Washington blocked me at every turn. They all but threatened my job in the end.”

“So you’re here to tell us to back off?” Alex guessed, her tone darkening. Kara tensed at the prospect of more confrontation. She thought she’d solved this. She’d given up flying to a much swankier part of town and checking on Cat to pull this together tonight. They were supposed to be moving forward.

“On the contrary,” Vasquez supplied as she wandered over to the pizza and studied her options. “Director J’onzz and I brought you everything we could get off the servers before a bunch of files were removed or censored.” Kara heaved a sigh of relief. “Who the hell has pepperoni with pineapple?”

“Kara,” everyone chorused as she took a triumphant bite of her fourth slice.

“Someone in a position of power is trying to block us. Whether they share the Cadmus agenda or just owe them a favor, they’re able to shut us down on official channels.” J’onn helped himself to a slice of Kara’s pizza with a quick wink, sitting on the edge of the desk. “But we were prepared to take them on unofficially before, so I see no reason why we shouldn’t again. This time without Myriad to disrupt our search.”

“You know, you people have got to stop flipping off Fate,” Winn chided. “What did I tell you about the universe clapping back?”

“We could be fired for this,” Alex warned Winn and Vasquez. They both looked at J’onn, who held his hands out in a gesture that said it might well be out of his control. Shrugging, they opened their beers and took a seat on the sofa next to James. Alex and Kara remained standing, de facto leaders despite J’onn’s presence.

“All due respect, ma'am,” Vasquez replied. “It’s just a job. Doesn’t mean shit compared to getting one of our own back with his family like he should be.”

“No more ma’am-ing, Susan,” Kara decided. “We’re all friends here.”

“We could all be looking at criminal charges, if these people are powerful enough,” Alex continued, pulling out a folding chair and sitting on it backwards. “Anything up to treason.”

“It would be more of a crime to know what you know and not act on it,” James said. “And what I’ll hopefully know when you’re done clueing me in.”

“Doesn’t that compromise you, running a media company?” Kara worried. “What if we need something to stay secret and you decide the public needs to know? To report what’s in front of you?” So maybe she wasn’t all the way over the damn photo, but it frustrated her when anyone pretended problems could just be smoothed over, especially James.

He held his hands up. “Then you make your case and I’ll make mine. But if you ask me, secrecy is playing it their way. They already have enough advantages.”

“Okay,” Alex huffed. “None of you are getting this. Jobs, prison, that’s one thing, but these assholes don’t have a problem with breaking the law, or disposing of people who get in their way. Anyone who doesn’t need that level of trouble? Walk away now. No judgment.”

Not one person so much as looked towards the door, and Kara wanted to beam with pride at her found family, these brave people willing to sacrifice everything just to do the right thing. They deserved capes, crests, and headlines of their own.

“Not all of us can fight with guns and superpowers,” James said, breaking the companionable silence. “But whatever you need from me and CatCo, I’m here. And I know Cat will say the same. Not every battle happens with fists.”

“I’ll take those files,” Winn said, holding out his hand for the thumb drive Vasquez had fished from her pocket. “If I can hack it or track it, you got it.”

“Thank you. All of you.” Alex set her beer down to take Kara’s hand and squeeze it. “That goes for you too, Kara. I know I’ve been giving you hell, because this matters to me more than just about anything. I just don’t want to risk you getting hurt, or worse, because I guilted you into it. These people know how to damage even you.”

“I know the stakes,” Kara assured her. “I’ve already lost one family, Alex. Let me do whatever I can to get this one back.”

“I’m so glad you’re my sister,” Alex whispered. “I’m sorry I–”

“All forgotten. Now let’s get to work, okay?”

Alex nodded towards the photos on the wall. “How come you put Maggie up there with Metallo and company?”

“We don’t know how she came by her information,” Kara told her. “Snapper would tell me to treat her with caution. I know she helped us, but we also know she seems pretty scared of something.”

Alex stared at the picture for a long moment. “You’re right. Leave her up there.” Kara knew by her sister’s frown they’d be returning to the subject before long, probably without an audience.

They all settled down, laptops and tablets open, maps unfolded on the floor. Kara got up to man the whiteboard as ideas started flying, scribbling as fast as she could while they identified lines of enquiry. A plan started to take shape, and she let her nagging worries about Cat and how she was settling in move to the back of her mind for a little while.

Only when everyone left hours later did Kara pull out her phone to check in. She’d been a little gun-shy since Cat had finally accepted her replacement phone, the last one lost to the Cadmus guards. Even though Kara understood one horrible reply hadn’t been from Cat herself, she still felt faintly nervous reaching out again by text. Almost as bad would be another panic-inducing silence instead of a response.

Summoning her courage before locking up for the night, she swiped her screen to see Cat had beaten her to the punch.

_Thank you, Kara. In all the chaos, I may have forgotten to say that most important thing. Thank you for getting me home safe. Thank you for caring enough to notice I was gone. Thank you for believing in me, even when you shouldn’t._

Kara rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. The text had arrived only a few minutes before, and her thumb hovered over the mini keyboard, trying to formulate a reply. She was interrupted by Cat’s bubble with the three little dots popping up.

_It goes without saying I’ll deny ever admitting these things, so one more secret to keep. If Cadmus really is trying to make me think you’re anything less than amazing, they’ll have one hell of a job. Goodnight._

A moment later, that message got its coda. Cat always did enjoy having the last word.

_No hovering outside my bedroom window. It’s creepy and you know it._

Busted. Kara smiled, knowing she would be disobeying Cat’s orders at least once. They’d all somehow decided to act as though Cat was untouchable now, in her secure penthouse with guards posted and the DEO monitoring her comms. Still, the threat of Cadmus lurked in every shadow. They had struck without warning before, and with almost devastating effect.

There would be no settled nights for any of them for some time to come, but Kara was determined no one would lay another hand on Cat as long as she was alive to stop them.

_Goodnight, Cat,_ she settled for replying in the end, opening the window just enough to fly out. _It’s really good to have you back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you've enjoyed this chapter of the virtual season. Questions always welcome too!
> 
> Major props to supercattuccino ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/krystalgoderitch) | [tumblr](http://supercattuccino.tumblr.com/ask)), spaceshipsarecool ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipsarecool) | [tumblr](http://spaceshipsarecool.tumblr.com/ask)) and musetotheworld ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/musetotheworld) | [tumblr](http://musetotheworld.tumblr.com/ask)) for their beta work on all episodes so far!


	11. Next week, on episode 3 (Wave)

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## NEXT WEEK ON SUPERGIRL VIRTUAL SEASON!

A mysterious creature attacks the citizens of National City. When Kara goes after the story, she gets some unexpected help.

Cat surprises Kara with her connections to the alien community.

And J’onn finally comes face to face with M’gann.

Don’t miss episode 3 - Wave by subcutaneous7! Beginning Monday on the [Supergirl Virtual Season](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sgvirtualseason)! 

Special thanks to @reginalovesemma ([ao3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/reginalovesemma) | [tumblr](http://reginalovesemma.tumblr.com)) for the lovely gifset!! You can leave comments about it here, or hit the [tumblr ask box](http://reginalovesemma.tumblr.com/ask). 


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